DOI Quick Facts
To view a set of tables with numeric data for the Department and each of its bureaus,
click here.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the
nation’s principal conservation agency. Our mission is to protect America’s
treasures for future generations, provide access to our nation’s natural and
cultural heritage, offer recreation opportunities, honor our trust
responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives and our responsibilities
to island communities, conduct scientific research, provide wise stewardship of
energy and mineral resources, foster sound use of land and water resources, and
conserve and protect fish and wildlife. The work that we do affects the lives of
millions of people; from the family taking a vacation in one of our national
parks to the children studying in one of our Indian schools.
Interior is a large, decentralized agency with
over 67,430 employees and 236,000 volunteers located at approximately 2,400
operating locations across the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and
freely associated states. We discharge our responsibilities on a $15.8 billion
total annual budget. DOI raises more than $12.9 billion in revenues collected from
energy, mineral, grazing, timber, recreation, land sales, etc.
Since Congress created the Department of the
Interior in 1849, it has become the steward for:
Land
DOI manages 500 million acres of surface land, or about
one-fifth of the land in the United States, including:
Over 200,000 acres of abandoned coal mine sites
have been reclaimed through the Office of Surface Mining's
Abandoned Mine Land Program.
Water
DOI has responsibility for managing a variety
of water and underwater resources. The Bureau of
Reclamation manages 479 dams and 348 reservoirs that
deliver irrigation water to one of every five western farmers and provide water for 31
million people. The Minerals Management Service has jurisdiction over approximately 1.76 billion
acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, on which it manages about 8,526 active oil
and gas leases on 44 million acres. The U.S.
Geological Survey conducts groundwater and surface water studies with offices in all 50 states.
Recreation and Cultural Opportunities
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57.3 million visits to 3,602 recreational
sites provided by the Bureau of Land Management
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272 million visits to
390 units,
including parks, monuments, seashore sites,
battlefields and other cultural and recreational sites provided by
National Park Service
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38 million visits to 548 wildlife refuges
provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service
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90 million visits to
289 recreation sites provided by the Bureau of
Reclamation
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For
more information on camping, fishing, archeology, bird watching and
other recreational opportunities on Interior and other Federal
lands, go to recreation.gov |
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Native American Lands and Needs
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66.1 million acres of land
belong to Indian tribes and individuals
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The
Bureau of Indian Affairs provides education services to 46,000 Indian
children in 184 schools and dormitories
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The Bureau manages relationships with
562 Indian tribes |
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U.S. Energy Needs
Energy projects on federally managed lands and
offshore areas supply about 30 percent of the nation’s energy production. This
includes:
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38% of natural gas
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30%
of oil
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45% of coal
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17% of hydro power
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50% of geothermal |
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Scientific Research
The U.S. Geological Survey scientists:
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Monitor,
analyze, interpret, and disseminate information on earthquakes, volcanoes, and
the geology and topography of the United States.
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Monitor and assess water quality,
streamflows and ground water at thousands of sites across the nation
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Produce more than more than 57,000 different maps
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Estimate world and United States energy and
mineral supplies
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Conduct a wide range of
research on biology, geology, and water to provide land and resource
managers with the information they need to make sound decisions, and
to help mitigate the effects of natural hazards |
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Fish and Wildlife
The Department seeks to work with others to conserve, manage,
protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing
benefit of all Americans. DOI is responsible for:
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Improving habitats for migratory birds,
certain marine animals, freshwater and anadromous fish, as well as providing
public enjoyment of these resources
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Protecting 1,922 endangered or threatened species, 1,267 are U.S.
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Preventing and controlling invasive
species
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Physical Inventory:
The number of facilities, buildings, roads,
trails, bridges, tunnels, water and waste systems, schools, reservoirs, and power
plants throughout the Department is enormous. For example:
The
physical inventory of the National Park system includes 7,580 administrative and
public use buildings, 5,771 historic buildings, 5,300 housing units (including
approximately 1,000 historic housing units), 8,500 miles of roads, 763 miles of
paved trails, 12,250 miles of unpaved trails, 1,804 bridges and tunnels, about
680 water and wastewater systems, 8,505 physical monuments
and statues, 250 radio systems,
505
dams, and more than 200 solid waste operations.
The
Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge system includes an
infrastructure to support public use and wildlife management programs with over
7,133 buildings, 650
bridges and tunnels, 690
dams, 12,145 miles of roads, 4279 miles of dikes, 14,262 miles
of fencing, and 9,977 water control structures.
The
Bureau of Land Management maintains approximately 4,777 buildings, 725 administrative sites, 3,602 recreation sites, 75,959 miles of roads, 856
bridges, and 18,932 miles of trails to support the visiting public.
The
Bureau of Indian Affairs has 5,84263 buildings containing 25.3 million square feet
of space, including 1,627 education and associated buildings at 184 schools serving
46,000 students, 1,174 administrative buildings, and 2,979 employee
housing units. The BIA also maintains over 27,038 miles of roads.
The U.S. Geological Survey rents 4.3 million square feet of space in about 190
GSA buildings nationwide; owns 34 installations with 1.3
million square feet of space in 283 buildings. In
addition, the USGS maintains
and operates an earthquake
monitoring global seismographic
network of 95 stations located
worldwide, and national and
regional networks located
throughout states and territories, 14 geomagnetic observatories, one
landslide network, one volcano hazards network to monitor 52 U.S. volcanoes, 17
biological science centers, approximately 85 biological field stations, a center for biological
informatics, 40 Cooperative Research Units, and 7,000 streamgages.
The
Bureau of Reclamation administers or operates 348 reservoirs, 58 hydroelectric
power plants, and 289 recreation sites.
Bureau Quick
Facts:
National Park Service
Created by legislation
enacted August 25, 1916, the National Park Service mission is to preserve
unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park
System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future
generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of
natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout
this country and the world.
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Of the 390
units in the National Park System, at least one park unit is found in
every State except Delaware.
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The National
Park Service manages 84.6
million acres, which includes 55 million acres
in Alaska.
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About 3.6
percent of the United States is part of the National Park System.
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The largest
National Park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska,
comprising 13.2 million acres.
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The largest
National Park in the contiguous States is Death Valley National Park in CA covering 3.3 million acres.
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Yellowstone,
established in 1872, is the nation’s first and oldest National
Park. |
Fish and Wildlife Service
The history of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) dates to the 1871 establishment of a Bureau of
Fisheries. A second predecessor agency, the Bureau of Biological Survey, was
established in 1885. One of FWS’s major elements, the National Wildlife Refuge
System, dates to the creation of the first National Wildlife Refuge by President
Theodore Roosevelt at Pelican Island in Florida on March 14, 1903.
Working with others, the FWS
mission is to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
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FWS
administers 548 National Wildlife Refuges covering about
96.4 million acres.
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FWS operates
71 National Fish Hatcheries that produce 140.3 million fish annually.
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The agency
administers the Endangered Species Act under which 1,922 species are
listed as threatened or endangered. The U.S.A. species account for two
thirds of those listed, or 1,267 species.
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Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was administratively established by the
Secretary of War on March 11, 1824. The BIA mission is to enhance the quality of
life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to
protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and
Alaska Natives.
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The
BIA acts as the principal agent of the United States in carrying out
government-to-government relationships, within the spirit of Indian
self-determination, between the United States and the 562
sovereign, federally-recognized American Indian tribes. This number of tribes includes 229
village groups in Alaska.
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The
BIA provides a wide range of programs for American Indians and Alaska
Natives that cover almost all of the service areas provided by other
Federal entities with the exception of defense and healthcare. The
services provided include education, law enforcement, agriculture, roads,
housing, employment, training, and judicial and social services.
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DOI
is trustee for about 66.1 million acres of land that belong to Indian tribes
and individuals – 46 million acres of which are managed by tribal
governments, and the remaining 10 million acres are owned by individual
Indians.
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The
largest reservation is the Navajo Reservation encompassing about 16.2
million acres of land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Many of the
smaller reservations cover less than acres with the smallest
covering less that acres.
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The
Department of the Interior manages 184 Indian schools serving
46,000
students, one of only two school systems managed by the federal
government. |
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land
Management was formed in 1946 with the merger of the Grazing Service and General
Land Office. It is the mission of the BLM to sustain the health, diversity, and
productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future
generations. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, many BLM
lands – unlike National Parks or National Wildlife Refuges – are intended to
be managed for "multiple uses," including extraction of resources and
intensive recreation as well as conservation. Special BLM areas are set aside
primarily for landscape conservation while allowing traditional uses such as
grazing.
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BLM manages
about 261.7 million surface acres of federally owned land, located primarily in 12
Western States, or about one-eighth of the U.S. land area. 83.5 million
acres of this land are in Alaska (about one-fourth of the State).
million acres are in Nevada (about two-thirds of the State).
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BLM managed
land represents 42% of lands managed by the federal government.
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The BLM
manages a wide variety of resources and uses, including energy and
minerals; timber; forage; wild horse and burro populations; fish and
wildlife habitat; wilderness areas; archaeological, paleontological, and
historical sites; and other natural heritage values.
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BLM also
administers onshore minerals underlying federal lands – a total of about
700 million subsurface acres of minerals. Production from onshore federal
lands accounts for:
* 45% of national coal
production,
* 13% of national gas
production,
* 5% of domestic oil
production.
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Office of Surface
Mining
The Office of
Surface Mining (OSM) was created to help carry out the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The mission of the OSM
is to ensure that coal mines are operated in a manner that
protects citizens and the environment during mining, assure that
the land is restored to beneficial use following mining, and
mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing
reclamation of abandoned mine lands.
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Since
1977, OSM has provided more than $1.1 billion in grants to
24 States and 3 Indian tribes to assist in funding the
regulation of active coal mines.
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Since
1979, OSM has provided $3.5 billion in grants to States
and 15 Indian tribes to clean up mine sites that were
abandoned before passage of the 1977 Act.
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More
than 200,000 acres of abandoned coal mine sites have been
reclaimed under the OSM Abandoned Mine Land Program. |
Minerals
Management Service
The Minerals Management Service was created by the Secretary of the Interior on
January 19, 1982. The mission of MMS is to manage the mineral resources on the
Outer Continental Shelf in an environmentally sound and safe manner and to
timely collect, verify and distribute mineral revenues from federal waters and federal and Indian
lands. The Outer Continental Shelf begins approximately 3-200 nautical miles off coastal
shorelines and extends 200 nautical miles out to sea, covering about 1.76 billion acres
in waters ranging in depth from a few feet to thousands of feet.
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Over 15
percent of domestic natural gas and 27 percent of domestic oil production
occurs on the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf)
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The MMS Environmental Studies Program has spent over $547 million and
completed over 1,550 research projects since the Service was founded. These studies encompass biological,
physical oceanographic, ecological, and socioeconomic issues associated
with offshore mineral leasing and development
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Since it's inception in
1982, MMS has collected and distributed on average, over $7.06 billion annually from
Federal offshore leases and from onshore Federal and Indian leases
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U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was created by an act of Congress on March 3,
1879. It is the principal federal agency responsible for the scientific
research, monitoring, collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of
natural hazard, geologic, water, geographic, and biological information.
The USGS serves the nation by
providing reliable unbiased information to:
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Describe and
understand the Earth
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Minimize loss
of life and property from natural disasters
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Assists in managing water,
biological, energy, and mineral resources
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Enhance and
protect our quality of life
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Prepare
estimates of world and U.S. energy supplies |
USGS has scientists,
technicians and support staff in every state with a total of approximately 8,669
employees. Production and distribution facilities manage more than more than 57,000
different maps and over 2.6 petabytes of cartographic and digital data, and archive
aerial photographs and global satellite data. Volcano
observatories are located in a number of states. The USGS
also operates National
Earthquake Information and Landslide Information Centers, the
National Water Quality Laboratory, the Hydrologic Instrumentation
Facility, the Nation's library of 35 years of global imagery in the EROS Data Center, and biological research and science centers. The USGS is affiliated
with 40 Cooperative Research Units, and 54 state Water Resources
Research Institutes.
Bureau of Reclamation
Created by Congress on June 17, 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR)
mission is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an
environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American
public.
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BOR
is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 Western States.
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BOR
manages 479 dams and 348 reservoirs with the capacity to store 245 million
acre-feet of water, delivers water to one of every five western farmers
for about 10 million acres of irrigated land, and provides more than 31
million people with water for municipal, rural and industrial uses.
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BOR
is the nation’s second largest producer of hydroelectric power,
generating more than 44 billion kilowatt hours of energy each year from 58
power plants.
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There
are about 8.7 million acres of Reclamation-owned and administered lands
(federal lands) associated with reclamation projects. |
Office
Quick
Facts:
Office of the Special
Trustee for American Indians
The Office of the Special
Trustee for American Indians (OST) was established to provide for the more
effective management of, and accountability for, the Secretary’s trust
responsibilities to Indian tribes and individual Indians. Toward this end, OST
oversees and coordinates Indian trust asset management reform efforts to ensure
the establishment of consistent policies, procedures, systems and practices
Department-wide. OST also has authority over and responsibility for the
management of funds held in trust for Indian tribes and individual Indians.
Office of Insular Affairs
The Office of
Insular Affairs’ (OIA) mission is to develop more efficient and
effective government in the insular areas by recommending policies, providing
financial and technical assistance, and by strengthening federal-insular
relationships.
OIA has
administrative responsibility for coordinating federal policy in the territories
of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and oversight of federal programs and funds in the
freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of
the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
The insular areas
now have popularly elected executive and legislative branches of government and
administer their own affairs. OIA develops and implements the federal budget for
insular area activities, provides technical assistance to the insular
governments, and analyzes programs and economic and political developments as
they relate to the unique federal relationship with the islands.
Office of the Inspector
General
The Office of Inspector General
(OIG) independently and objectively performs audits and investigations
for the Department of the Interior, assessing risks and vulnerabilities that
could inhibit the Department's ability to accomplish its mission. The OIG keeps
the Secretary and Congress fully informed of deficiencies relating to programs and
operations and continually addresses the public's demand for accountability.
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For further information, visit
the following DOI web sites:
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