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The Small Business Association (SBA) released their annual Scorecard rates for federal agency performance in meeting overall small business goal and the component contracting goals for small disadvantaged businesses, small businesses in HUBZones, and small businesses owned by women and service-disabled veterans. The Department of the Interior was one of the top federal agencies in FY2008, meeting four of the five procurement goals. more

Secretary Salazar accompanied by Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley (left) visits students at the Hunters Point Boarding School, Window Rock, AZ. (Photo credit: Tami A. Heilemann-DOI) Hi-Res

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told Navajo Nation officials Thursday that President Obama’s major goals for working with Indian Country include improving educational opportunities for American Indian children, strengthening law enforcement and advancing self-sustaining economic development for tribal communities. more

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Bureau of Reclamation has selected Challenge Grant projects in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Utah that will receive $40 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Deputy Assitant Secretary Robert Stanton and Secretary Salazar congratulate Joshua P. Sommerville of Gaithersburg High School and his parents on his scholarship. (Photo credit: Tami A. Heilemann-DOI) Hi-Res

Secretary Salazar Congratulates Interior Blacks-in-Government Members and Scholarship Recipients

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today commended the Department of the Interior’s Blacks-in-Government (BIG) chapter for its community service and presented 10 recent high school graduates from the Washington, D.C area with college scholarships funded by BIG members.more

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve has used $50,000 in Recovery Act funds to build a shuttle bus turnaround, shelter, signs and interpretive exhibits at Kennecott, a national historic landmark within the park. (Photo credit: Grant Crosby-NPS) Hi-Res

Assistant Secretary Strickland Highlights Interiors $85 Million in Recovery Act Investments in Alaska

On a two-week visit to Alaska, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland today highlighted more than $85 million that Interior is investing in Alaska under the President’s economic recovery package. The funding is designed to create jobs, stimulate local economies, and enable rehabilitation and improvement projects at national parks, refuges, and other public lands in the state. more

Surface salt deposits left on pasture lands east of Cleveland, Utah caused by irrigation flood run-off. (USBR photo)] Hi-Res

$11.1 Million in Grants for Colorado River Basinwide Salinity Control Program

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation will award grants totaling more than $11.1 million to irrigation companies in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to fund salinity control projects within the Upper Colorado River Basin under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). more

Offshore Lease Sale in Gulf Generates $115 Million; Onshore Energy Sale in Utah Attracts $1.1 Million

A sale of federal oil and natural gas leases for the Western Gulf of Mexico attracted $115,466,321 in high bids today, following yesterday’s $1.1 million sale of onshore energy leases in Utah. To date this year, the department has offered 55 million acres of U.S. public land – onshore and offshore – for oil and gas development, generating more than $875 million in revenues. more

USGS scientists Lia Chaser (left) and Erica Rau (right) study fish in the St. Marys River in northern Florida for analysis of mercury. [Photo by Mark Brigham - USGS] Hi-Res

Scientists detected mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released today.

About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S. EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals. more

The First Family visits Yellowstone National Park. Visitation to our National Parks has increased in 2009. [Photo by Tami A. Heilemann - DOI] Hi-Res

National Parks Visitation Rises in 2009

America’s national parks are seeing more visitors in 2009 than a year earlier, according to visitation information collected by the National Park Service (NPS). In the first half of 2009, national park units experienced 127,728,898 visits, an increase of nearly 4.5 million visits over the same period in 2008. In June alone, visitation to national parks increased by over 718,000 visits between 2008 to 2009. more

View Photos of the First Family's Trip to Yellowstone

DOI News Archives

About the Department of the interior
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation’s principal conservation agency. Interior is a large, decentralized agency with over 67,000 employees and 180,000 volunteers located at approximately 2,400 operating locations across the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and freely associated states. more
Mission Statement	History
Key Officials	Past Secretaries
Organizational Chart	Quick Facts
DOI In the News	Strategic Plan
DOI en Español	Interior Library
Significant Guidance Documents
Below are links to some DOI sites that may be of interest:
Water	Science
Floods	Astrogeology at USGS
Conservation	Hurricanes
Resources	Earthquakes
Land	Wildlife
Fire	Endangered Species
Maps	Habitats & Conservation
Parks / Refuges / BLM Lands	Wild Horse & Burro Adoption
Offshore Lands/Volcanoes	Duck Stamps
Communities	InfoLinks
Special Trustee	Healthy Forests
Indian Trust	Avian Influenza Information
Territories and Islands	2005 Hurricane Recovery