 This Week: Secretary Haaland's Appalachian tour takes her to West Virginia; Interior announces $100 million for added safety measures for the B.F. Sisk Dam in California; a Bureau of Indian Affairs program looks to inspire Indigenous entrepreneurs; a new National Park will commemorate the shameful incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII; it's the first-ever map of the network of underground geological pathways feeding Yellowstone National Park's hot springs and geysers; endangered species protection might be on the way for a threatened bat; there's a new Special Envoy to lead negotiations with the Freely Associate States; the crowds are back in the nation's capital as world-famous cherry blossoms hit their peak bloom; and two adorable bear cubs say hello to the world in our social media Picture of the Week!
Secretary Haaland's Appalachia Tour Continues in West Virginia
 Secretary Haaland was in West Virginia this week as she continues her tour of Appalachia, highlighting President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and investments in coal communities. Through the law, Interior is investing $16 billion to address legacy pollution including the reclamation of abandoned mine lands.
Assistant Secretary Trujillo Highlights Investments in Drought Resilience
 Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo celebrated World Water Day this week. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes one of the largest investments in drought resilience in the nation’s history. Interior this week announced $100 million in funding through the infrastructure law to modify the B.F. Sisk Dam in California.
Economic Development Program Helps Indigenous Entrepreneurs
 The Office of Indian Economic Development this week announced it's accepting applications for the Native American Business Incubators Program. The program aims to assist entrepreneurs in Native communities by providing guidance and services like workspace, advice on how to access capital, business education, counseling and mentorship opportunities.
Amache National Historic Site Will Become National Park
 President Biden this week designated the Amache site in Granada, Colorado as part of the National Park System. Amache was one of 10 incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to detain Japanese Americans forcibly removed from the West Coast of the United States. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated at Amache from 1942 to 1945.
USGS Makes First-Ever Map of Yellowstone National Park’s Hydrothermal Pathways
 Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey this week announced the first-ever map of the network of underground geological pathways that feed Yellowstone National Park’s legendary geysers and hot springs. Scientists worked with educational partners to generate more than 100,000 models spanning the entire park, which show most thermal features are located above buried faults and fractures that act as fluid conduits.
 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced a proposal to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The bat, currently listed as threatened, faces extinction due to the wide-ranging impacts of white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease affecting cave-dwelling bats across the continent.
 The Office of Insular Affairs this week applauded the appointment of Joseph Yun as Special Presidential Envoy to lead U.S. government negotiations on the renewal of the Compacts of Free Associations with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau. Interior has a historical and statutory role supporting the Freely Associated States, affirming our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
 Thousands are turning out once again this week for one of Washington's most famous annual attractions, the blooming of the Japanese cherry trees around the Tidal Basin. They’re the centerpiece of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, back in full swing this year after activities were cut back or cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The trees were a gift from the people of Japan exactly 110 years ago this weekend.
|
