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This Week: The Not Invisible Act Commission holds its first in-person meeting; Secretary Haaland marks World Wildlife Day with a Secretary’s Order aimed at restoring bison and their habitat; the America the Beautiful Challenge offers over $116 million in grants to fund locally-led conservation; a Utah river gets a new delta to help an endangered fish recover; a half-million dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is on the way to improve a California fishery; endangered Mexican wolf population in Arizona and New Mexico surpasses 200 for the first time since their reintroduction 25 years ago; a new report on visitation at America’s national parks shows a rebound toward pre-pandemic levels; there's a peak-bloom prediction for Washington D.C.'s world-famous cherry blossoms; USGS counts 144 candles, and we're celebrating Interior's birthday with our social media Picture of the Week!
Not Invisible Act Commission Announces Field Hearings
 Secretary Haaland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco hosted the first in-person plenary session of the Not Invisible Act Commission this week. The mission is focused on developing recommendations to combat the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis.
Interior Announces Significant Action to Restore Bison Population
 Friday, March 3 is World Wildlife Day, and Secretary Haaland marked the occasion with a new Secretary’s Order, committing over $25 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to help restore bison and the vast grassland habitats on which they depend.
Up to $166 Million Available for Locally Led Conservation Projects
 The Biden-Harris administration and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation this week released a Request for Proposals for the America the Beautiful Challenge. The program expects to award up to $116 million in grants in 2023.
 Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo was on hand this week as the Provo River in Utah was diverted into a new restored delta, connecting it with Utah Lake.
 The Bureau of Land Management is partnering with the Wiyot Tribe and the University of California, Berkeley to improve the Eel River fishery in Arcata, California, thanks to more than half a million dollars in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced the population of endangered Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico has surpassed 200 for the first time since their reintroduction into the wild in 1998.
 A new report on visitation at America’s national parks shows a rebound toward pre-pandemic levels. The National Park Service says there were more than 311 million recreational visits to national parks in 2022, an increase of nearly 15 million over the previous year.
 The National Park Service this week projected the peak bloom date for the cherry blossoms at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C. as sometime between March 22-25.
 Happy Birthday to the U.S. Geological Survey! Since 1879, USGS has brought an array of earth, water, biological and mapping data expertise for across-the-government decision-making on environmental, resource and public safety issues.
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