Hi, this is Secretary David Bernhardt, and this is This Week at Interior.
This Week at Interior…
After more than three years, the Washington Monument reopened to much fanfare this week!
First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary Bernhardt cut the ribbon and welcomed back visitors
to the newly-restored monument, which has a new elevator and updated secure access center.
The Secretary also joined area youngsters taking part in the “Every Kid Outdoors”
program…
And as part of the reopening festivities, the Secretary welcomed an Irish delegation
earlier this week… they braved the fifty-story walk down from the top to admire the latest
commemorative plaque installed inside the Monument, a gift from the people of Ireland
to the United States.
In California this week, President Trump visited the southern border to inspect the progress
of border wall construction and discuss the national security and humanitarian crisis
taking place.
Meanwhile Secretary Bernhardt announced the transfer of administrative jurisdiction of
approximately 560 acres of Federal lands to the U.S. Army to build roughly 70 miles of
border barriers.
That comes in response to the Defense Department’s announcement on September 4th of this year
to defer $3.6 billion in funding for 11 barrier projects.
Check out the whole story at doi.gov.
The Secretary's Migratory Bird Conservation Commission has approved twenty-eight million
dollars for wetlands conservation grant funding.
These grants will be matched by more than seventy-two million dollars in partner funds…
it all goes to ensure waterfowl and other birds are protected throughout their life
cycles.
Secretary Bernhardt says these public-private grants help uphold President Trump's promise
to America's sportsmen and women to preserve our nation's wildlife and provide access to
our public lands for future generations.
Find out more at fws.gov
The Director of the U-S Geological Survey was in Palau, delivering remarks at the U-S
Coral Reef Task Force Business meeting.
Dr. James Reilly’s remarks highlighted USGS science as it relates to coral reef health,
degradation, ecosystem impacts, and restoration.
Get the latest news on coral reefs at usgs.gov.
The National Park Service is celebrating the completion of Locks 3 and 4 of the Chesapeake
& Ohio Canal National Historical Park.
The historic canal, which runs through Washington DC, Maryland, and West Virginia, was constructed
nearly two centuries ago… for the last few years artisans have used period tools and
methods to reconstruct the lock and preserve the C&O Canal’s history and heritage.
Find out more at nps.gov
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement held an outreach and informational meeting
this week at their Gulf of Mexico Region office.
Industry representatives from about 20 offshore oil and gas companies, learned about BSEE’s
requirements for incident reporting, BSEE’s investigation process, and they also provided
feedback.
The Bureau of Reclamation is one step closer to bringing safe, reliable drinking water
to four Pueblos and parts of Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
Reclamation this week signed on to an agreement renegotiating cost shares and cost savings
measures in Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System project.
That clears the way for a final environmental impact statement.
Get details at usbr.gov
And Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman was on hand this week at a dedication for
the James W. Broderick Hydropower Plant at Pueblo Dam in Colorado.
Reclamation says the plant is one of fourteen built on existing dams so far under a Lease
of Power Privilege, and shows how maximum benefits can be realized from existing federal
projects.
President Trump issued a proclamation, declaring this week as the start of National Hispanic
Heritage Month...a month set aside to pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans
who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
About seven-thousand Hispanic and Latino Americans call Interior home… that’s a full one-tenth
of our workforce!
Check out hispanicheritagemonth.gov
And our Social Media Picture of the Week... this glorious sunrise over Mesa Arch at Canyonlands
National Park in Utah.
Canyonlands' landscape of canyons, mesas, buttes and deep river gorges, reveals millions
of years of deposited sediment and erosion -- a true test of time.
Thanks to John Chico for an amazing photo.
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That’s This Week, at Interior.