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This Week: the President's Budget request for fiscal year 2024 includes $18.9 billion for Interior; a delegation from Interior attends the Our Ocean Conference in Panama City, Panama; an advisory committee on invasive species discusses prevention, eradication and control strategies; USFWS announces a $120 million investment to restore national wildlife refuges and partner areas affected by climate change; Reclamation celebrates 120 years of managing water in the west; the BLM approves a new power transmission line in New Mexico; $135 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grants are awarded to six Appalachian states and three Tribes; and our social media Picture of the Week is strictly for the birds!
President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Requests 12% Increase for Interior
 The President’s Budget request for fiscal year 2024 was released this week. That proposal includes a total of $18.9 billion for Interior, an increase of $2 billion, or 12 percent over last year.
Our Ocean Conference Emphasizes Connection with Climate
 Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen Cantor led Interior’s delegation this week at the Our Ocean Conference in Panama City, Panama. The conference emphasized the connection between the world's oceans and the planet's climate.
New Members Announced as Invasive Species Advisory Committee Charts Path Forward
 Members of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee gathered this week to discuss strategies to prevent, eradicate and control invasive species. Managed by the Interior Department, the committee provides valuable input to the National Invasive Species Council.
 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a $120 million Inflation Reduction Act investment to rebuild and restore units of the National Wildlife Refuge System and partnering State Wildlife Management Areas affected by adverse weather events.
 Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton was in California to celebrate 120 years of managing water in the West and highlight a $60 million award for the Coachella Valley Water District’s irrigation pipeline replacement project, from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
 The Bureau of Land Management has approved the La Mesa Gen-Tie Project in Doña Ana County, southeast of Las Cruces in Anthony, New Mexico. The 4.7-mile power line will serve as an interconnection between the 20 megawatt La Mesa Solar Facility and the Anthony substation.
 The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement this week announced $135 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grants for six Appalachian states and three Tribes. The funding will help address high priority abandoned mine land problems, including clogged streams, dangerous piles or embankments, dangerous highwalls, underground mine fires and polluted water.
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