United States Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States, as well as programs related to historic preservation. About 75% of federal public land is managed by the department, with most of the remainder managed by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.[3] The department was created on March 3, 1849.

"USDOI" redirects here. For the precursor to the FBI, see United States Division of Investigation. For the statement, see United States Declaration of Independence.

United States Department of the Interior
Seal of the U.S. Department of the Interior
Flag of the U.S. Department of the Interior

Main Interior Building
Agency overview
FormedMarch 3, 1849 (1849-03-03)
TypeDepartment
Headquarters
  • Main Interior Building
  • 1849 C Street NW
  • Washington, D.C., U.S.
  • 20240

38°53′37.11″N 77°2′33.33″W
Employees67,026 (2022)[1]
Annual budget$17.6 Billion (2022)[2]
Agency executives
WebsiteDOI.gov

The department is headed by the secretary of the interior, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current secretary is Deb Haaland.

Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the interior ministries of other nations, which are usually responsible for police matters and internal security. In the United States, national security and immigration functions are performed by the Department of Homeland Security primarily and the Department of Justice secondarily. The Department of the Interior has often been humorously called "the Department of Everything Else" because of its broad range of responsibilities.[4]

History

Formation of the department

A department for domestic concern was first considered by the 1st United States Congress in 1789, but those duties were placed in the Department of State. The idea of a separate domestic department continued to percolate for a half-century and was supported by presidents from James Madison to James Polk. The 1846–48 Mexican–American War gave the proposal new steam as the responsibilities of the federal government grew. Polk's secretary of the treasury, Robert J. Walker, became a vocal champion of creating the new department.[5]

In 1849, Walker stated in his annual report that several federal offices were placed in departments with which they had little to do. He noted that the General Land Office had little to do with the Treasury and also highlighted the Indian Affairs office, part of the Department of War, and the Patent Office, part of the Department of State. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be brought together in a new Department of the Interior. A bill authorizing its creation of the department passed the House of Representatives on February 15, 1849, and spent just over two weeks in the Senate. The department was established on March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395), the eve of President Zachary Taylor's inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the department. Its passage was delayed by Democrats in Congress who were reluctant to create more patronage posts for the incoming Whig administration to fill. The first secretary of the interior was Thomas Ewing.

On Tuesday September 1, 2020, Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt signed Secretary’s Order 3384 establishing the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA). The BTFA initially reported to the assistant secretary of Indian affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney and assumed responsibility for financial operations functions formerly performed by the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) effective October 1, 2020.

Department responsibilities

As of mid-2004, the department managed 507 million acres (2,050,000 km2) of surface land, or about one-fifth of the land in the United States. It manages 476 dams and 348 reservoirs through the Bureau of Reclamation, 410 national parks, monuments, seashore sites, etc. through the National Park Service, and 544 national wildlife refuges through the Fish and Wildlife Service. Several of the domestic concerns the department originally dealt with were gradually transferred to other departments. For example, the Department of Interior was responsible for water pollution control prior to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.[6] Other agencies became separate departments, such as the Bureau of Agriculture, which later became the Department of Agriculture. However, land and natural resource management, American Indian affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs remain the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. The department in January 2020 grounded its fleet of 810 DJI drones used to monitor wildlife and infrastructure over security concerns.[7]

Native Americans

Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles some federal relations with Native Americans, while others are handled by the Office of Special Trustee. The current acting assistant secretary for Indian affairs is Lawrence S. Roberts, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe in Wisconsin.

The department has been the subject of disputes over proper accounting for Native American Trusts set up to track the income and distribution of monies that are generated by the trust and specific Native American lands, which the government leases for fees to companies that extract oil, timber, minerals, and other resources. Several cases have sought an accounting of such funds from departments within the Interior and Treasury (such as the Minerals Management Service), in what has been a 15-year-old lawsuit. Some Native American nations have also sued the government over water-rights issues and their treaties with the US. In 2010 Congress passed the Claims Settlement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-291), which provided $3.4 billion for the settlement of the Cobell v. Salazar class-action trust case and four Native American water rights cases.[8]

The $3.4 billion will be placed in a still-to-be-selected bank and $1.4 billion will go to individuals, mostly in the form of checks ranging from $500 to $1,500. A small group, such as members of the Osage tribe who benefit from huge Oklahoma oil revenues, will get far more, based on a formula incorporating their 10 highest years of income between 1985 and 2009. As important, $2 billion will be used to buy trust land from Native American owners at fair market prices, with the government finally returning the land to tribes. Nobody can be forced to sell.[9]

Native American secretaries

On March 16, 2021, Deb Haaland, serving at that time as a member of Congress for New Mexico, took the oath of office as secretary, becoming the first Indigenous person to lead an executive department, and the third woman to lead the department.[10]

Operating units
The hierarchy of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
  • Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs
      Logo of the National Invasive Species Council
      • Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance
      • Office of International Affairs
      • Office of Native Hawaiian Relations
      • Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment
      • Office of Policy Analysis
      • National Invasive Species Council
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, Finance, Performance and Acquisition
      Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Deputy Director, Michelle E. Warren, leading an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.
      • Office of Budget
      • Office of Financial Management
      • Office of Planning and Performance Management
      • Business Integration Office [administers the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS)]
      • Office of Acquisition and Property Management
      • Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Capital and Diversity
      • Office of Human Resources
      • Office of Occupational Safety and Health
      • Office of Strategic Employee and Organizational Development
      • Office of Civil Rights
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology, Information and Business Services
      • Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution
      • Appraisal and Valuation Services Office
      • Interior Business Center
      • Office of Hearings and Appeals
      • Office of Facilities and Administrative Services
      • Office of the Chief Information Officer
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Safety, Resources Protection and Emergency Services (DAS-PRE)
      • Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
      • Office of Law Enforcement and Security (OLES)
      • Office of Wildland Fire
      • Office of Aviation Services (OAS)
      • Interagency Borderlands Coordinator
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources Revenue Management
      • Office of Natural Resources Revenue
  • Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Michael Bean (third from left), at the dedication of San Antonio Missions UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management
      • Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
      • Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
      • Office of Human Capital Management (OHCM)
      • Office of Planning and Policy Analysis (OPPA)
      • Office of Facilities, Environmental and Cultural Resources (OFECR)
    • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development
      • Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED)
      • Office of Indian Gaming (OIG)
      • Office of Self-Governance (OSG)
    • A Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighter at the La Jolla Indian Reservation
      Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
      • Office of Indian Services (OIS)
      • Office of Field Operations (OFO)
      • Office of Justice Services (OJS)
      • Office of Trust Services (OTS)
    • 2016 map of Bureau of Indian Education schools
      Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)
    • Office of External Affairs
      • Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA)
      • Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
    • Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA)
    • Office of Regulatory Management (ORM)
  • Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management
    • A Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Area in northern Alaska
      Bureau of Land Management
    • Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
    • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
    • Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
  • Assistant Secretary for Water and Science
  • Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs
    • Office of Insular Affairs
    • Office of International Affairs
    • Ocean, Great Lakes and Coastal Activities Program Office
  • Solicitor
    • Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
  • Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
    • Office of General Counsel
    • Assistant Inspector General for Investigations
      • Office of Investigations
    • Assistant Inspector General for Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations
      • Office of Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations
    • Assistant Inspector General for Management
      • Office of Management
    • Associate Inspector General for External Affairs
    • Associate Inspector General for Whistleblower Protection
    • Strategy Management Office
    • Associate Inspector General for Communications
  • Chief Information Officer
  • Special Trustee for American Indians
  • Federal Executive Boards
  • Interior Museum
  • National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC)

Awards

DOI Convocation Honor Award is the most prestigious recognition that can be granted by the department.

The following awards are presented at the Honor Awards Convocation:[11]

  • Safety and Health Award of Excellence & Aviation Safety Award
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • Citizen’s Award for Bravery
  • Valor Award

Controversy

Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall was implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal of 1921. He was convicted of bribery in 1929, and served one year in prison, for his part in the controversy. A major factor in the scandal was a transfer of certain oil leases from the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy to that of the Department of the Interior, at Fall's behest.

Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt faced criticism for his alleged hostility to environmentalism, for his support of the development and use of federal lands by foresting, ranching, and other commercial interests, and for banning The Beach Boys from playing a 1983 Independence Day concert on the National Mall out of concerns of attracting "an undesirable element". His 1983 resignation was prompted by a speech in which he said about his staff: "I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent."[12][13]

Under the Administration of President George W. Bush, the Interior Department's maintenance backlog climbed from $5 billion to $8.7 billion, despite Bush's campaign pledges to eliminate it completely. Of the agency under Bush's leadership, Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney has cited a "culture of fear" and of "ethical failure." Devaney has also said, "Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of Interior."[14]

See also
  • America's Great Outdoors Initiative
  • Environmental policy of the United States
  • USA.gov

References
  1. "Staffing" (PDF). Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  2. "Departmental Overview" (PDF). Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  3. GAO, "Federal Land Management: Observations on a Possible Move of the Forest Service into the Department of the Interior", February 11, 2009
  4. "History", National Park Service web page. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  5. "Robert J Walker Secratary of the Treasury 1845-1849". Treasury Department. Retrieved October 3, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Elkins, Chuck (October 2013). "Transcript of "Behind the Scenes at the Creation of the EPA" Video" (PDF). EPA Alumni Association. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  7. Friedman, Lisa; McCabe, David (January 29, 2020). "Interior Dept. Grounds Its Drones Over Chinese Spying Fears". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  8. Curtis, Mary C., "Obama Hails Passage of Settlement for Native Americans, Black Farmers", The Huffington Post, November 30, 2010. Accessed December 1, 2011.
  9. Warren, James, "A Victory for Native Americans?", The Atlantic, 7 June 2010.
  10. Chavez, Aliyah. "Deb Haaland swearing in details announced". Indian Country Today. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  11. "Department of Interior Awards & Recognition". Department of Interior. Retrieved June 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. 556. James G Watt, US Secretary of the Interior., "Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations" (1988) via bartleby.com and Wayback Machine.
  13. RMOA – Document
  14. Cart, Julie. "Bush legacy leaves uphill climb for U.S. parks", Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2009.

Further reading
  • Black, Megan. The Global Interior: Mineral Frontiers and American Power. Harvard University Press, 2018.
  • Utley, Robert M. and Barry Mackintosh; The Department of Everything Else: Highlights of Interior History; Dept. of the Interior, Washington, D.C.; 1989
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