This Week: Secretary Burgum is on hand as President Trump holds the first Cabinet meeting of his new administration; Secretary Burgum sends out his "welcome back to the office" message as most Interior employees have returned to their in-person workspaces; the Secretary welcomes the Western Governors Association to a working breakfast at Interior; the Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Trust Lands Administration complete the final steps to execute a historic land exchange between the BLM and the State of Utah; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announces the cancellation of a previous set of recommendations to allow for more oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America to make American Energy Dominant; Interior marks National Invasive Species Awareness Week, an annual event to raise awareness about the threat of invasive species and what can be done to prevent their spread; two National Park Service staffers stumble on a tiny Texas plant that turns out to be unlike any other; we have a prediction for the peak bloom date for Washington DC's world famous cherry blossoms; and we head to the mountains of Nevada for our social media Picture of the Week! Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X!
Secretary Burgum was on the hand this week as President Trump held the first Cabinet
meeting of his new administration, gathering his department heads at the White House, discussing
the most pressing issues and taking questions from reporters.
Afterward in the Rose Garden, the Secretary joined other Cabinet Secretaries to discuss
with reporters the path forward to make American energy dominant under President Trump's
vision for the nation.
First Cabinet meeting, it was fantastic, but of course we're working for a leader, President
Donald J. Trump.
He's given all of us clear direction through executive orders.
He's empowering us to go get the job done.
We know what we have to do.
He didn't mess around.
He picked such amazing talent to serve on his Cabinet.
Almost all of us are now confirmed and out there getting to work.
Secretary Burgum also sent out his welcome back to the office message this week, as most
interior employees have returned to their in-person workspaces.
The Secretary said the department workforce's commitment to Interior's multiple missions
is what drives our success, and that he's thrilled workers are back together.
He said that while this transition may bring some adjustments, it's also an exciting opportunity
to reconnect, collaborate, and continue to strengthen our efforts as one team to serve
the American people.
Working side-by-side in our shared office space, we will be a hub of creativity, innovation,
and teamwork, and we look forward to the dynamic conversations and problem-solving opportunities
that will benefit our great nation.
Secretary Burgum this week welcomed the Western Governors Association to a working breakfast
at Interior, along with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright,
and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
Among the topics discussed were energy, land management, and federal partnership with the
states.
The WGA is a nonpartisan organization representing 19 states and three territories.
And Secretary Burgum, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Utah Trust Lands Administration this
week completed the final steps to execute a historic land exchange between the BLM and
the state of Utah.
Congress mandated the move as part of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management,
and Recreation Act of 2019.
Through the exchange, Utah will gain additional water rights, along with rich deposits of
oil, coal, and natural gas, the revenues on which will directly benefit Utah public
schools.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week announced the cancellation of a previous
set of recommendations aimed at protecting rice's whales during oil and gas activities
in the Gulf of America.
The cancellation reflects a new department priority for increasing American energy production.
This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, an annual event to raise awareness about
invasive species, the threat that they pose, and what can be done to prevent their spread.
Invasive species are any non-native organism whose introduction to a particular ecosystem
can cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal, or plant health.
They cause an estimated $120 billion in environmental damages and losses annually in the United
States.
Find out more on our blog at doi.gov.
Last year, two National Park Service staffers at Big Bend National Park in Texas stumbled
on a tiny plant they didn't recognize.
Now it turns out no one could have, because what they discovered was a plant not known
to science.
The fuzzy foliage and interesting flower they found among the park's desert rocks is a new
genus within the daisy family, officially called Ovicula boradiata, but researchers
refer to it as the woolly devil.
The National Park Service this week made its annual prediction for the peak bloom of Washington
D.C.'s storied cherry blossoms sometime between March 28th and 31st.
That's the time when some 70 percent of the Oshino cherry trees are likely to be in bloom
around the Tidal Basin and National Mall, bringing with them hundreds of thousands of
eager tourists.
The trees were a gift to the United States from the people of Japan in 1912.
This year's National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20th through April 13th.
And our social media Picture of the Week, winter hangs on in Nevada's Shoshone Mountains.
They're among the longest mountain ranges in the Silver State, stretching 66 miles across
the high desert, spanning 400 square miles of public lands managed by the BLM.
It's a rugged landscape offering vast open spaces for exploration.
Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X.
That's This Week, at Interior.
