This Week at Interior  

Nearly 2000 Interior employees are currently working alongside federal, state, Tribal and other community partners in wildfire management activities across the West, and in direct response to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the southeast. If you need help, or would like to contribute to relief efforts in the aftermath of these devastating events, contact the American Red Cross at redcross.org

Secretary Haaland visited San Jose, California this week to highlight new investments for the redevelopment and creation of local parks through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program, or ORLP. During her visit, the Secretary discussed how President Biden's Investing in America agenda and the America the Beautiful initiative are helping advance the administration’s commitment to ensuring that everyone, no matter their background or zip code, can enjoy the benefits of green spaces and the outdoors. The ORLP program was established in 2014 and is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which received full and permanent funding through the Great American Outdoors Act.

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory joined federal, state and local leaders in Illinois this week to honor President Biden’s recent establishment of Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument. The new national monument will help tell a more complete story of America by preserving historic objects associated with a violent, racially motivated riot in 1908 that ultimately served as a catalyst for important steps in the civil rights movement, including the creation of the NAACP.  

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Dr. Steve Feldgus traveled to California this week, where he joined federal, state and community leaders to celebrate the completion of the Victory Pass and Arica Solar + Storage projects in Riverside County. They are the first to qualify under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, and together will generate enough electricity to power over 200,000 homes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced nearly $10 million in funding for 53 projects across Western states. The funding will support sagebrush habitat restoration, scientific research, and efforts to increase community resilience against climate change, such as wildfires and extreme drought.

And our social media Picture of the Week...with the arrival of crisp, cooler air and with fewer hours of daylight, the colors of autumn blaze through Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. October is peak season here among the forests and high meadows, where the sounds of bull elk bugling echoes through the air.

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That's This Week at Interior!