Interior Department

The Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture announced the coordinated action to create the U.S. Wildland Fire Service to modernize wildfire management nationwide.

The country’s top land managers testified before U.S. senators last week to defend sweeping budget cuts for the nation’s public lands and a plan to sell 3.3 million acres managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management so communities can build housing.   T...

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed a joint memo on wildfire preparedness, ensuring the two departments will work closely during the fire season.  USDA will work with the President’s cabinet members and trusted state, local, and tribal partners to ensure the nation’s firefighting system is highly coordinated and focused on fighting wildfires quickly and effectivel

The Interior Department may see more lawsuits after announcing it would no longer require the Bureau of Land Management to create an environmental impact statement for more than 3,200 oil and gas leases in seven states. The Biden administration started work on the review four days before President Trump took office in January...

On Tuesday, Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Department of the Interior to support Governor Tina Kotek’s request for emergency authorizations to allow flexibility in grazing schedules.  Kotek’s request would also use alternative grazing areas in response to the current wildfire disaster in Oregon.     “The grazi...

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is scheduled to visit Oregon this weekend.  Senator Jeff Merkley said he’s asked the Secretary for some time to come to the state and talk about important investments in tourism.   “To discuss public recreation on public lands, which, we have these extraordinary lands that are in our collective ownership.  And we want to make sure...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association recently filed a Notice of Intent to sue the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  NCBA is planning the lawsuit over the listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act.   ...

Last week a group of western lawmakers asked the Department of Agriculture and Interior Department for additional wildfire fighting resources.  Oregon’s Peter DeFazio joined 24 other lawmakers, primarily from California, asking the federal government to assist in continuing to fight fires aggressively, communicate clearly and take administrative steps now to prepare additional personnel for when t

Some farmers in the west are dealing with droughts that are lingering longer and are more intense, making water scarce, or sometimes unavailable at all, but the NRCS said there are things that can be done to help the situation.Astor Boozer, western regional conservationist at NRCS, said several federal departments have programs to help producers to conserve water and mitigate against drought, but,

In an effort to help farmers and ranchers conserve water and build drought resilience in their communities, the USDA in investing $21 million on a variety of projects across the Pacific Northwest. The effort is part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) collaboration with the Department of Interior’s (DOI) WaterSMART Initiative. According to U ...