Career employees told HCN they were unsettled by the termination email sent by HR, which cited ‘performance issues.’
Department of Interior
Posted inArticles
Days before Trump took office, Interior approved oil and gas leases for land bought during 2019 public auction
Company can begin to issue plans for drilling near Chaco Canyon buffer zone on Navajo Nation allotment.
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We must protect our sacred lands
To meet the crisis of our time and help address past wrongs, we need bold action from decision makers.
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Trump’s nominee for leading Interior attempted to rip up rules governing public lands
North Dakota sued the Interior Department at least five times under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now he’s set to run the agency.
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Outgoing Bureau of Land Management director optimistic about public lands
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses the BLM’s achievements and talks about the future as we enter a new political era.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Tribal objects returned to the Northern Arapaho Tribe
After years of negotiation with the Episcopal Church, over 200 cultural items finally come back home.
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2024’s biggest conservation wins for the West
There were glimmers of good news across the region, from restored habitats to growing wildlife populations.
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2024 set the stage for clean energy on public lands
Thanks to Biden administration policies, the momentum behind the energy transition could be hard to stall.
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My family experienced Indian boarding schools – and genocide
Why Biden’s apology didn’t go far enough.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities
The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.
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President Biden to apologize for federal Indian boarding schools
The U.S. government hopes to assuage cynicism and begin a new chapter of healing for Native people.
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How another Donald Trump term could dismantle federal agencies
Trump moved the BLM’s headquarters from the capital to Colorado in 2020, causing disruption and an exodus of leadership. If elected, he plans to use the same tactic elsewhere.
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Will exploratory lithium mining continue near a sacred hot spring?
A judge will decide the fate of Ha’Kamwe’ as the Hualapai Nation fights the drilling in court.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
The Native vote dilemma
Every election year, Indigenous people grapple with whether and
how to engage in electoral politics.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
What the Bundy Bunkerville standoff foreshadowed
Ten years after the impasse between the Bundy family and the BLM, the doctrine of white oppression is widely embraced.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes must pay.
How schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
After half a century, the Apache trout swims off the threatened species list
Arizona’s state fish is doing well but faces a daunting future.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
What tribal leaders think about Interior’s dams report
The federal government has acknowledged the harms of Columbia River dams. Now what?
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What a Kamala Harris presidency could mean for the West
Harris has prioritized protecting public lands and pursued accountability for polluters, but her track record on tribal affairs is mixed.
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Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West
The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.