All articles tagged with #interior department
The Interior Department finalized the repeal of the Endangered Species Act 'harm rule' that treated habitat destruction as harm to endangered species, arguing it aligns with the Act's intent and reduces regulatory burdens; the change could enable more mining, ranching and other development in protected areas, while opponents like Earthjustice vow to sue.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum doubled down on blaming vandals for the reflecting pool’s problems, saying photos show damage to the pool bottom and that the president’s motorcade over the unfinished pool did not cause it; seven people have been arrested in connection with the damage, and Burgum defended ongoing federal restoration work as controversy swirls ahead of America’s 250th birthday.
The Interior Department is soliciting bids for a contractor to maintain the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a second round of repairs, including daily cleaning, debris removal, filter upkeep, and periodic draining for a two-week clean, with annual pumping out during winter. The effort aims to fix algae blooms, a slick bottom, and vandalism concerns, and is part of a project that has cost over $14 million so far. Bids are due by July 8, and work is expected to begin in August, following Independence Day celebrations.
A renovation ordered by Trump left the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool green with algae, despite plans to keep it crystal clear with nanobubble ozone technology and hydrogen peroxide. The project’s cost ballooned from an initial $1.5–2 million to about $14.2 million, and officials warn algae blooms are a persistent challenge in the shallow, warm pool as the National Park Service manages maintenance backlogs ahead of July 4.
A federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the Interior Department and National Park Service to restore all signs, displays, and exhibits altered or removed under President Trump’s directive, with full restoration by July 3 ahead of the 250th birthday and an injunction against further changes. The ruling, in a coalition lawsuit by conservation groups, argues parks should present history in full and accurately, citing examples like a Grand Teton marker about the Piegan Blackfeet massacre and climate-change signage at Fort Sumter, and calls the educational role of parks a “cornerstone of public learning.” The Interior Department criticized the decision and said it may appeal.
A federal judge in Boston ordered the Interior Department to reinstate signs and exhibits about slavery, climate change and other topics removed from national parks, ruling the removals undermine park integrity and amount to censorship; the exhibits must be restored within 21 days ahead of the 250th anniversary. Plaintiffs argued removals violated congressional mandates and lacked rational justification, while the Interior maintained the policy aimed to tell the full, accurate history; the decision follows President Trump’s March 2025 executive order referencing revisionist history.
Algae appeared in the Reflecting Pool shortly after a $14 million renovation; officials say it’s residual from dormant supply lines, the algae is being removed, and measures are in place to prevent a recurrence, with President Trump having previously praised the pool’s renovated water.
With the Colorado River at record-low levels, the Trump administration is using Inflation Reduction Act funds to extend Biden-era contracts that paid water users to reduce deliveries, while Interior surveys a long backlog of proposed projects totaling more than $50 billion. Experts say meaningful relief requires permanently reducing agricultural water use, but political and legal obstacles make such changes difficult; in the near term, short-term buyouts and fallowing agreements funded by federal dollars continue to flow, illustrating a crisis-driven approach that may not solve the river’s core imbalance.
Two seal tests for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation failed, leaving the $13.1 million project with ongoing leaks as officials push to finish before July 4; Interior Secretary Burgum fired back at coverage with a lengthy X thread accusing the media of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,’ while Trump praises improvements and the contractor scrambles to find a lasting fix.
Ahead of a critical visit to China, Donald Trump spent hours on Truth Social railing against Democrats and promoting a costly Reflecting Pool renovation, claiming patriots urged it; The New York Times reported the Interior Department doubled the project’s price to nearly $14 million under a no-bid contract, raising questions about urgency versus proper bidding as Trump touts an aesthetic overhaul of Washington.
A Washington nonprofit, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Interior Department and the National Park Service from repainting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue without the required historic-preservation reviews, arguing the color undermines the pool’s solemn design; Trump supporters say renovations will beautify the site, and a judge will decide the case.
The Interior Department canceled a rule that had designated conservation as a use of public lands, reversing a conservation-first policy and signaling a shift in federal land management under the current administration.
A Washington, D.C. nonprofit filed a federal lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s plan to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue, alleging the Interior Department violated federal law by not completing required public consultation and environmental review before starting the work; a judge has asked for responses and may hold a hearing as renovation proceeds amid broader changes to national monuments.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management revoked the American Prairie Foundation’s grazing license in Phillips County, Montana, paving the way to remove about 900 bison so federal lands can be used for cattle; the move—rooted in the Taylor Grazing Act—has drawn praise from ranchers and Republicans but opposition from environmentalists and Native tribes, with relocation costs running into hundreds of thousands of dollars and the land-division plan still unclear.
Dirk Kempthorne, a Republican who led Boise as mayor, went on to serve as Idaho governor and later as U.S. Interior secretary under George W. Bush, dying at 74 in Boise after a colon cancer diagnosis; his tenure included the polar bear being listed as a threatened species in 2008.