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U.S. Department of the Interior
| Department of the Interior | |
| Secretary: | Ryan Zinke |
| 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]
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]
Ryan Zinke is the current secretary of the interior. On December 15, 2018, President Donald Trump announced that Zinke would be leaving his position as Secretary of the Interior at the end of 2018.[3]
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:[4]
- 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.[5] | ” |
| —Department of the Interior[1] | ||
Leadership
| 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.
Trump administration secretary of the Interior
| Nomination tracker | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate: Ryan Zinke | ||
| Position: Secretary of the Interior | ||
| Confirmation progress | ||
| Announced: | December 13, 2016 | |
| Hearing: | January 17, 2017 | |
| Committee: | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | |
| Reported: | January 31, 2017 16-6 | |
| Confirmed: | March 1, 2017 | |
| Vote: | 68-31 | |
- See also: Ryan Zinke
President Donald Trump announced Ryan Zinke as his pick for secretary of the interior on December 13, 2016. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 2017, by a vote of 68-31. He is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Montana's At-Large Congressional District from 2015 to 2017. He was first elected to the House in 2014.
Zinke testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on January 17, 2017. In his opening statement, Zinke described what would be his three broad goals if he was confirmed: “The first is to restore trust by working with rather than against local communities and states. I fully recognize that there is distrust, anger, and even hatred against some federal management policies. Being a listening advocate rather than a deaf adversary is a good start. Second, is to prioritize the estimated 12.5 billion dollars in backlog of maintenance and repair in our National Parks. The President elect is committed to a jobs and infrastructure bill, and I am going to need your help in making sure that bill includes shoring up our Nation’s treasures. And third, to ensure the professionals on the front line, our rangers and field managers, have the right tools, right resources, and flexibility to make the right decisions that give a voice to the people they serve.”
Asked by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) whether he thought climate change was a hoax, Zinke said, “Climate is changing. Man is an influence. I think where there’s debate on it is what that influence is and what can we do about. As the [head of] the Department of the Interior, I will inherit, if confirmed, the USGS (United States Geological Survey). We have great scientists there. I’m not a climate scientist (sic) expert, but I can tell you I’m going to become a lot more familiar with it. And it will be based on objective science.”
When asked by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) about his stance on transferring ownership of federal land to state governments, Zinke stated, “I am absolutely against transfer or sale of public land.”
Organization
| Administrative State |
|---|
| Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
Initiatives and issues
Trump administration, 2017-2020
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Recent news
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See also
External links
- 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, "Strategic plan FY 2011-2016," accessed January 2, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "Bureaus and Offices," January 2, 2014
- ↑ CNN, "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to leave Trump administration at end of the year," December 15, 2018
- ↑ 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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