The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most

federal land Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...

along with

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientif ...

Board. The secretary is a member of the

United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...

and reports to the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries. As the policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

, the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949,

Rogers Morton Rogers Clark Ballard Morton (September 19, 1914 – April 19, 1979) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce during the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, ...

, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021. Following senate confirmation, former U.S. representative

Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017 and a ...

was sworn in as the secretary of the interior, the first Native American to hold the position.

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of interior is as follows: # Deputy Secretary of the Interior #Solicitor of the Interior #Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget #Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management #Assistant Secretary for Water and Science #Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks #Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs #Director, Security, Safety, and Law Enforcement,

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

#Central Region Director,

US Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

#Intermountain Regional Director,

#Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region) Director,

US Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

#Colorado State Director, Bureau of Land Management #Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region

List of secretaries of the interior

; Parties (3) (17) (33) ; Status

References

External links

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