The Department of the Interior is the steward of approximately 500 million acres of federal public lands -- roughly one-fifth of the entire United States -- along with 700 million acres of subsurface minerals and 1.7 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf. Its bureaus manage the National Park System, oversee Bureau of Land Management territories, protect endangered species through the Fish and Wildlife Service, and manage federal trust responsibilities to tribal nations through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
These lands belong to all Americans and represent an irreplaceable ecological, cultural, and economic inheritance. Outdoor recreation on federal public lands generates $128 billion annually and supports nearly one million jobs -- more employment than logging, mining, and livestock grazing combined.
- Liquidated Public Lands for Extraction: Approved 6,027 new drilling permits in 2025 -- more than any year in the prior 15 years -- and held 22 lease sales, treating public lands as a commodity inventory rather than a national trust.
- Destroyed National Monuments: Slashed Bears Ears National Monument by approximately 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half, exposing sacred Indigenous sites and irreplaceable cultural resources to extraction and disturbance.
- Gutted the National Park Service Workforce: Fired approximately 1,000 NPS employees and cut $500 million in congressionally appropriated funding, forcing parks to reduce hours, close visitor centers, and halt search and rescue capacity.
- Attacked the Endangered Species Act: Pushed to permanently delist the gray wolf and the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population, overriding wildlife scientists in favor of livestock industry lobbying.
- Undermined Tribal Sovereignty: Threatened the Bears Ears co-management agreement between five tribal nations and the federal government, and reduced monument protections covering more than 100,000 archaeological and sacred sites without meaningful tribal consultation.
- Expanded Offshore Drilling: Proposed a 2026-2031 leasing program covering 1.3 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf, targeting California's coast, Alaska's offshore waters, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Issue Day One presidential proclamations restoring Bears Ears National Monument to 1.36 million acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante to full boundaries, reaffirming tribal co-management frameworks. Enact the National Monument Integrity Act to permanently prevent future presidents from reducing monuments without explicit congressional authorization. Complete a comprehensive review of all monuments reduced or threatened under Trump administrations and issue proclamations for all unlawfully reduced monuments within the first 100 days.
Protect 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 through conservation leases, tribal co-management agreements, wilderness designations, and Land and Water Conservation Fund acquisitions. Reinstate the BLM Conservation and Landscape Health Rule establishing conservation as a co-equal use of public lands. Submit Wilderness designation recommendations to Congress for 10 million acres, prioritizing areas with documented wilderness character and tribal cultural significance.
Enact the Tribal Co-Management of Public Lands Act and the Sacred Places Protection Act, providing binding co-management authority and enforceable legal protections for Indigenous sacred sites on federal lands, including a federal sacred sites registry and one-mile buffer zones around registered sites. Execute renewed intergovernmental agreements with tribal nations, starting with the five nations of the Bears Ears Commission, and establish co-management agreements for at minimum five additional public land units by year two.
Raise onshore royalty rates from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent, enforce full bonding requirements for well reclamation, and cancel the mandate for quarterly lease sales. Ensure 100 percent of active oil and gas wells on public lands achieve bonding compliance within 24 months. Cancel all Trump-era oil and gas lease sales that have not been completed pending full NEPA review.
Reinstate all terminated NPS and BLM employees, submit a $2 billion emergency supplemental appropriations request for workforce restoration and deferred maintenance, and fully staff NPS and BLM to pre-Trump levels plus 15 percent by year three. Restore visitor services at all parks that reduced hours or closed visitor centers due to workforce destruction.
Initiate relisting rulemaking for the gray wolf and grizzly bear under the ESA's scientific standard. Reverse Trump-era 2019 regulatory rollbacks that weakened protections for threatened species and allowed economic impacts on listing decisions. Increase FWS Ecological Services funding by $500 million over five years through the Endangered Species Recovery and Funding Act. Clear the backlog of overdue five-year ESA status reviews by year three.
Withdraw all areas covered by Biden's January 2025 offshore drilling ban covering 625 million acres of ocean. Enact the Offshore Drilling Permanent Prohibition Act to permanently prohibit leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific, eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic waters. Protect Alaska Indigenous coastal communities whose subsistence fishing and marine mammal hunting rights are threatened by offshore drilling operations.
Reinstate the Renewable Energy Rule and Western Solar Plan. Approve 25 gigawatts of clean energy on public lands within 24 months and target 50 gigawatts by 2030, while protecting sensitive habitats, cultural resources, and tribal co-management areas. Establish a clean energy development fund financed by royalties from fossil fuel leasing, with 30 percent of revenues distributed to affected tribal nations and gateway communities.
- Restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments to full, legally established boundaries
- Withdraw from oil and gas leasing all areas covered by Biden's 625 million-acre offshore drilling ban
- Halt all Interior Department reduction-in-force actions and offer reinstatement to all employees terminated since January 20, 2025
- Reinstate the BLM Conservation and Landscape Health Rule re-establishing conservation as co-equal use
- Reinstate the 30x30 America the Beautiful framework with annual benchmarks and Secretary-level accountability
- Direct government-to-government tribal consultation before any action affecting tribal interests, treaty rights, or sacred sites
- Reinstate BLM's Renewable Energy Rule and Western Solar Plan for clean energy permitting
- Reinstate the Interior Department's scientific integrity policy with investigative authority
- Direct the Solicitor of the Interior to defend the illegality of Trump monument reductions and offshore drilling orders
- 500 million acres: Federal public lands managed by the Department of the Interior -- one-fifth of the entire United States
- $128 billion: Annual economic output generated by outdoor recreation on federal public lands, supporting nearly one million jobs
- 6,027 drilling permits: Approved in 2025 alone -- more than any year in the prior 15 years
- 2,000+ employees: Interior Department workers fired through DOGE-directed layoffs across NPS, BLM, USGS, and FWS
- $500 million: Congressionally appropriated NPS funding rescinded through IRA clawbacks
- 100,000+: Archaeological and cultural sites within Bears Ears National Monument exposed by monument reduction
- $23 billion: National Park Service deferred maintenance backlog before Trump-era budget cuts deepened it further
- 1.3 billion acres: Outer Continental Shelf waters proposed for drilling under the most aggressive offshore leasing expansion in decades
- 60 million Americans: Depend on federal public lands for their drinking water through rivers, streams, and aquifers
- 85%: Reduction in Bears Ears National Monument acreage from 1.36 million to approximately 228,000 acres
- National Monument Integrity Act -- Prohibits monument reduction or revocation without explicit congressional authorization
- Tribal Co-Management of Public Lands Act -- Provides statutory authority for binding co-management agreements with tribal nations
- Sacred Places Protection Act -- Creates enforceable legal protections and a federal registry for Indigenous sacred sites on federal lands
- Hard-Rock Mining Reform and Reclamation Act -- Establishes an 8 percent federal royalty and full bonding requirements for hard-rock mining on public lands
- Endangered Species Recovery and Funding Act -- Increases ESA funding by $500 million over five years with a dedicated species recovery fund
- Offshore Drilling Permanent Prohibition Act -- Permanently prohibits leasing in Atlantic, Pacific, and eastern Gulf waters
- Public Lands Clean Future Act -- Codifies the 30x30 goal and establishes a clean energy development fund
- Migratory Bird Protection Act -- Codifies incidental take liability under the MBTA by statute
- Read the full chapter: Chapter 16: Department of the Interior
- Contact your representatives: Demand restoration of national monuments, ESA enforcement, and tribal co-management authority
- Share this one-pager: Distribute to community groups, environmental organizations, and tribal advocacy networks
- Join the movement: Support public lands conservation, tribal sovereignty, and clean energy on federal lands
Project 2029 | Section 3: The General Welfare | Last Updated: February 28, 2026 Full chapter: Chapter 16: Department of the Interior