U.S. Department of the Interior
| Department of the Interior | |
| Secretary: | Doug Burgum |
| Year created: | 1849 |
| Official website: | DOI.gov |
The Department of the Interior is a United States executive department established in 1849. The department was formed to protect and manage the nation's natural resources and cultural heritage.[1]
Doug Burgum is the U.S. secretary of the interior. Click here to learn more about his confirmation process.
The department oversees various federal agencies including: the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.[2]
History
The Office of the Interior was formed in 1849 to protect and manage the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage. The following is a list of important dates in the department's history:[3]
- 1869: Hayden expedition began geological survey of Western territories
- 1872: Yellowstone National Park established by Congress
- 1879: U.S. Geological Survey established
- 1903: First National Wildlife Refuge established at Pelican Island, Florida
- 1916: National Park Service established by President Woodrow Wilson
- 1940: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created from agency merging
- 1982: Minerals Management Service established for mineral revenue collection and offshore land management
Mission
The Department of the Interior website states the mission:
| “ | The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities.[4] | ” |
| —Department of the Interior[1] | ||
Leadership
Doug Burgum is the U.S. secretary of the interior.
| Secretaries of the Interior Full History | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of the Interior | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote | |||||
| Thomas Ewing | 1849-1850 | Zachary Taylor | ||||||
| Thomas M.T. McKennan | 1850-1850 | Millard Fillmore | ||||||
| Alexander H.H. Stuart | 1850-1853 | Millard Fillmore | ||||||
| Robert McClelland | 1853-1857 | Franklin Pierce | ||||||
| Jacob Thompson | 1857-1861 | James Buchanan | ||||||
| Caleb B. Smith | 1861-1862 | Abraham Lincoln | ||||||
| John P. Usher | 1863-1865 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| James Harlan | 1865-1866 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| Orville H. Browning | 1866-1869 | Andrew Johnson | ||||||
| Jacob D. Cox | 1869-1870 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Columbus Delano | 1870-1875 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Zachariah Chandler | 1875-1877 | Ulysses S. Grant | ||||||
| Carl Schurz | 1877-1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes | ||||||
| Samuel J. Kirkwood | 1881-1882 | James Garfield | ||||||
| Henry M. Teller | 1882-1885 | Chester A. Arthur | ||||||
| Lucius Q.C. Lamar, II | 1885-1888 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| William F. Vilas | 1888-1889 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| John W. Noble | 1889-1893 | Benjamin Harrison | ||||||
| M. Hoke Smith | 1893-1896 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| David R. Francis | 1896-1897 | Grover Cleveland | ||||||
| Cornelius N. Bliss | 1897-1899 | William McKinley | ||||||
| Ethan A. Hitchcock | 1899-1907 | Theodore Roosevelt | ||||||
| James R. Garfield | 1907-1909 | Theodore Roosevelt | ||||||
| Richard A. Ballinger | 1909-1911 | William Howard Taft | ||||||
| Walter L. Fisher | 1911-1913 | William Howard Taft | ||||||
| Franklin K. Lane | 1913-1920 | Woodrow Wilson | ||||||
| John B. Payne | 1920-1921 | Woodrow Wilson | ||||||
| Albert B. Fall | 1921-1923 | Warren G. Harding | ||||||
| Hubert Work | 1923-1928 | Calvin Coolidge | ||||||
| Roy Owen West | 1928-1929 | Calvin Coolidge | ||||||
| Ray Lyman Wilbur | 1929-1933 | Herbert Hoover | ||||||
| Harold L. Ickes | 1933-1946 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||||
| Julius A. Krug | 1946-1949 | Harry Truman | ||||||
| Oscar L. Chapman | 1949-1953 | Harry Truman | ||||||
| Douglas McKay | 1953-1956 | Dwight Eisenhower | ||||||
| Fred A. Seaton | 1956-1961 | Dwight Eisenhower | ||||||
| Steward L. Udall | 1961-1969 | John F. Kennedy | ||||||
| Walter J. Hickel | 1969-1970 | Richard Nixon | ||||||
| Rogers C.B. Morton | 1971-1975 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Stanley K. Hathaway | 1975 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Thomas S. Kleppe | 1975-1977 | Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Cecil D. Andrus | 1977-1981 | Jimmy Carter | N/A | |||||
| James G. Watt | 1981-1983 | Ronald Reagan | 83-12 | |||||
| William P. Clark | 1983-1985 | Ronald Reagan | 71-18 | |||||
| Donald P. Hodel | 1985-1989 | Ronald Reagan | 93-1 | |||||
| Manuel Lujan, Jr. | 1989-1993 | George H.W. Bush | 100-0 | |||||
| Bruce E. Babbitt | 1993-2001 | Bill Clinton | N/A | |||||
| Gale A. Norton | 2001-2006 | George W. Bush | 75-24 | |||||
| Dirk A. Kempthorne | 2006-2009 | George W. Bush | N/A | |||||
| Ken Salazar | 2009-2013 | Barack Obama | N/A | |||||
| Sally Jewell | 2013-2017 | Barack Obama | 87-11 | |||||
| Ryan Zinke | 2017-2019 | Donald Trump | 68-31 | |||||
| David Bernhardt | 2019-2021 | Donald Trump | 56-41 | |||||
| Debra Haaland | 2021-2025 | Joe Biden | 51-40 | |||||
| Walter Cruickshank (acting) | 2025-2025 | Donald Trump | - | |||||
| Doug Burgum | 2025-present | Donald Trump | 80-17 | |||||
Note: Votes marked "N/A" represent voice votes or unrecorded votes. Missing votes will be filled as they are researched.
Organization
| Administrative State |
|---|
| Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official Department of the Interior website
- Official Facebook page
- Official Twitter page
- Official Youtube channel
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Department of the Interior, "About Interior," accessed June 23, 2025
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "Bureaus and Offices," January 2, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "History of the Interior," accessed January 2, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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