Next Interior Memos

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Getting to know our Fellows

Getting to know our Fellows

Background and a Q&A with Next Interior Fellows Vanessa Raymond and Adam Auerbach

It’s past time to rescind the Congressional Review Act

It’s past time to rescind the Congressional Review Act

Here’s a concrete proposal to undo a bad law used to do bad things through a bad process

A frozen-over river is lined by trees, with partly cloudy skies overhead.

The Next Interior Fellows’ Reports

Dive into the details on critical minerals and public lands

A snow-covered forest and two-track trail, in black-and-white.

Quick update

Busy times and federal statistics

A polar bear sits on ice, appearing to wave.

Next Interior hibernation (=focus) mode

It is that time of year!

A lush desert grassland and distant desert scrub hills with mountains in the background and partly blue skies overhead.

A non-martial future for Interior

We're headed down a path where Interior is militarized, and we need to speak out to avoid that

Sticky notes with messages of hope, civility, joy, and more on the "Wall of Hope."

What Does An Accountable Government Look Like to You?

Summit 250, a convening from a few weeks ago, led to a great set of discussions and next steps from a host of people who are working for reconstructing government.

A glowing yellow, pink, orange, purple, and blue sunset with a few trees and mountains.

Opportunities to engage

We hope you had a great holiday break! While we dig out from last week's busy-ness and tee up things for the coming weeks, here are three opportunities to engage and support people and institutions: Next Interior Fellows Program webinar Back in September, we introduced our inaugural Next

A dirt road on a wooded hillside with American beech trees and their yellowish-orange leaves lighting up the scene.

Giving thanks

A few quick items

A river with some leaves on the edges is photographed on a 45 degree angle, with a mountain in the background and the sun shining under blue skies

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-11-20

Water and imperiled species, fire science and risk, Tribal reports, and more this week

View from a rocky outcrop overlooking a rocky river below, with wooded mountains around, and mostly clear blue skies with a few distant clouds.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-11-13

The shutdown has ended. What comes next?

Black and white photo of the US Capitol Building sticking up behind some trees.

The end of the 2025 shutdown looms

Capitulation in the Capitol is the name of the game

Waves are blown across a desert wetland with rugged mountains in the background and mostly clear skies overhead.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-11-06

The shutdown continues, there was an election, the RIF news evolved, and other news of interest to today and Interior’s future.

Wildflowers bloom in foreground with rugged, rocky mountains in the background.

Boosting opportunities to engage

...and adding another. Because engagement is good for us, for democracy, and for Interior.

The US Capitol Building under partly cloudy skies earlier this year.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-10-30

It’s spooky season in many ways

Interior’s Contributions to America

Interior’s Contributions to America

Next Interior is using publicly available data to shed light on where and how the Department of the Interior serves the Nation

Sunrise over a wetland with a few clouds in the sky in the distance, a few trees and power poles on the horizon, and reflection of the sun and clouds in the water.

The next phase of Next Interior

Charting the course for Next Interior, with calls to action

View intod a desert valley from a rocky outcrop under clear skies, with smoke in the distance.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest 2025-10-23

Heavy news week, and a guest author to help explain some of it

A river scene with trees on the banks, mostly clear skies with a few high clouds in the distance and the sun low in the sky. Sundogs, small rainbows in clouds around the sun, are visible.

Sunday Edition - 19 October 2025

News on Interior staffing and Alaska: a Sunday edition of Next Interior Memos

A building with a dome (Jefferson Memorial) lit against a dark sky, reflected on water (Tidal Basin).

Next Interior Memos weekly digest 2025-10-16

Busy week, shorter digest

Sunrise through a mixed forest under a clear blue sky.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-10-09

Shutdown week two, plus much more news

A person climbs a rocky desert hillside carrying a radio telemetry antenna, which is pointed at a cholla cactus.

Funding US science

A general backgrounder, from The Conversation

The US Capitol Building in winter under partly cloudy skies, with people standing out front.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-10-02

The federal shutdown has arrived.

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-09-25

Next Interior Memos weekly digest, 2025-09-25

Personnel moves, known and new, are the main item this week.

Announcing the inaugural Next Interior Fellows

The first two Next Interior Fellows will examine critical minerals issues on the radio in Alaska, map the loss of institutional knowledge at Interior