Interior's mission is to protect and manage the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and to honor our trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives and affiliated Island Communities. Our partnerships promote conservation on our treasured landscapes, preserve natural and cultural resources, bring innovative approaches to resource management, and which engage diverse entities, including youth, to accomplish Interior’s mission.

Through partnerships, we achieve community- and landscape-level conservation results across America, tapping the knowledge and innovation of local people and organizations. As Secretary Salazar said at the Partners in Conservation Awards Ceremony on May 7, 2009, "Government agencies work best when they work in partnerships with each other and with private partners. … We are in a new era of conservation [working with] partners with whom we are finding common ground and forging solutions to the complex natural resource issues of our times."