The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating to Native Americans,Alaska Natives,Native Hawaiians,territorial affairs,and insular areas of the United States,as well as programs related to historic preservation. About 75% of federal public land is managed by the department,with most of the remainder managed by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The department was created on March 3,1849. It is headquartered at the Main Interior Building,located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington,D.C.
Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Alaska,having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman to represent Alaska in the Senate and the Senate's second-most senior Republican woman,after Susan Collins of Maine. She became dean of Alaska's congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young's death.
Anthony Carroll Knowles is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002,he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again for governor in 2006. In September 2008,Knowles became president of the National Energy Policy Institute,a non-profit energy policy organization funded by billionaire George Kaiser's family foundation,and located at the University of Tulsa.
The question of whether to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has been an ongoing political controversy in the United States since 1977. As of 2017,Republicans have attempted to allow drilling in ANWR almost fifty times,finally being successful with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
The deputy secretary of the Interior,in the United States government,advises and assists the secretary of the interior in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Interior and its activities,and succeeds the secretary in his or her absence,sickness,or unavailability. The deputy secretary of the interior is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. In 1990,the title of the position was changed from under secretary of the interior to deputy secretary of the interior.
David J. Hayes is an American attorney and legal scholar who serves in the Biden Administration as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy. Hayes has led White House work on clean energy deployment issues,climate resilience and greenhouse gas emission reduction and carbon sequestration initiatives. Hayes also has assisted in developing and implementing the climate-related provisions included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior,established in 2010 by Secretarial Order. The oil,gas,and renewable energy related management functions formerly under the purview of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) were delegated to the BOEM and its sister agency,The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Specifically,BOEM is involved in resource evaluation,planning,and leasing.
The Arctic policy of the United States is the foreign policy of the United States in regard to the Arctic region. In addition,the United States' domestic policy toward Alaska is part of its Arctic policy.
Michael Lee Connor is an American politician,lawyer and engineer. He has served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works since November 2021,and served as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 2014 to 2017,among other positions in United States Department of the Interior.
Debra Anne Haaland is a Native American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland,a Native American,is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
The political positions of Lisa Murkowski are reflected by her United States Senate voting record,public speeches,and interviews. Lisa Murkowski is a Republican senator from Alaska who has served since 2002.
Joe Biden assumed office as President of the United States on January 20,2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Laura Daniel-Davis is an American government official serving as acting deputy secretary of the interior,following the resignation of Tommy Beaudreau.
M. Camille Calimlim Touton is a Filipino-American water policy advisor who serves as the commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation in the Biden administration.
David Applegate is an American academic who has served as director of the United States Geological Survey since 2022. He is also a professor at the University of Utah.
Radha Iyengar Plumb is an American government official currently serving as the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. She previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She was confirmed for that position by the U.S. Senate on April 18,2023 and assumed office later that month.
The Willow project is an oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on the plain of the North Slope of Alaska in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska entirely on wetlands. The project was originally to construct and operate up to five drill pads for a total of 250 oil wells. Associated infrastructure includes access and infield roads,airstrips,pipelines,a gravel mine and a temporary island to facilitate module delivery via sealift barges on permafrost and between waters managed by the state of Alaska.
Elizabeth Johnson Klein is an American lawyer serving as the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management since 2023. She was previously a senior counselor to the United States secretary of the interior with an emphasis was on water policy and climate change resilience.
