The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) U.S. Department of the Interior was established in 1849 History of the Department of the Interior | U.S. Department of the Interior. Its responsibilities include protecting and managing the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; providing scientific and other information about those resources; and honoring its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities.  Its legal authorities begin at 43 USC  1451 43 USC Ch. 31: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR and its regulatory authorities can be found at 43 CFR eCFR :: 43 CFR Subtitle A — Office of the Secretary of the Interior. 

Agencies with DOI, which will be detailed in later postings, include the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,  Bureau of Reclamation,  National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   DOI’s April 2026 Fiscal Year 2027 congressional budget request Fiscal Year 2027 Interior Budget in Brief is $16.1 billion in current authority and $15.9 billion in net discretionary authority.  It’s workforce includes nearly 70,000 employees  About Our Employees | U.S. Department of the Interior and it is also heavily dependent on volunteers.

This blog post was submitted by Bert Chapman, Purdue University.