U.S. Department of the Interior

Federal officials are reportedly considering shrinking at least six national monuments in the Mountain West region to increase energy development on public lands.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last week ordered all national parks to “remain open and accessible.” The directive comes after about 1,000 National Park Service employees were fired. In March, a federal judge ordered them – and thousands of other laid-off federal workers – to be reinstated, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked that order.

Conservation groups are suing the federal government for failing to protect a national trail in the Mountain West that they say is under ‘eco-assault’ due to industrial development.

The Interior Department is spending another $90 million on restoring rivers and wetlands across the Western U.S., including several in the Mountain West region.

A new federal investigation has found nearly 1,000 Native American children died while attending boarding schools created to strip them of their culture. The report, commissioned by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, calls on the government to apologize.

The Interior Department is spending another $70 million to reopen habitat for native fish in many parts of the U.S., including the Mountain West.

Tribal and federal leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss protecting tribal lands from the effects of climate change. The topic was part of the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit on Dec. 6 and 7.

The Interior Department is spending another $64 million to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells that threaten the environment and public health, including some wells in the Mountain West.

The Interior Department is spending nearly $85 million to help communities in the West tackle challenges brought on by drought, and many of the projects are in the Mountain West.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland recently announced an advisory committee to do away with place names considered derogatory and offensive toward Indigenous people.