Next Interior Memos weekly digest 2025-10-16
Busy week, shorter digest
This week is another busy one, out there in the world and here with Next Interior. Monday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day off for me and many others, and a day to reflect. Next Interior has been focusing on teeing up some big changes to advance how we work to meet a diversity of needs; more on that soon. I also got to meet up with some folks from the America The Beautiful for All Coalition this week, a great chance to talk with folks with people from a host of groups, small and local in focus to big and national. Given these goings-on, a shorter digest:
- The federal shutdown continues into week three. Next Interior Memos backgrounders one and two. Some other reads. Yesterday, a court blocked layoffs during the shutdown. Thinking of the thousands of civil servants not able to serve the Nation as they are driven to do, not getting paid.
- Publicly available information from Interior is mostly lacking, but here are a few items to note:
- Parks are feeling the consequences of the shutdown.
- For conservation, E&E notes that the lack of staffing for the Fish and Wildlife Service means missing deadlines for Endangered Species Act decisions. Also, Interior continues to damage important restoration work by cutting funding.
- On the energy front, the big news is probably the change with the country’s largest solar project, Esmerelda 7, in Nevada. But good news: BLM rejected the only bid for a coal lease sale.
- Science is stalled, such as at USGS.
- Tribal organizations continue to highlight the harms of the shutdown to Indian Country. Meanwhile, there’s some really good news about Indian Country data and statistics coming from the Minneapolis Fed.
There’s lots more going on of course; here’s the Next Interior bookmarks page with Interior-related news and links that you can peruse at your leisure:
https://raindrop.io/jacob-ogre/next-interior-web-clips-60859515
ACTION ITEM
- What: Voices for Conservation Rally
- When: Wednesday, October 22nd, 5:00-6:00 PM Eastern
- Where: Outside the Department of the Interior building in DC
- How: Register here
More: Join us IN PERSON for our Voices for Conservation Rally outside the Department of the Interior in Washington, DC! This rally will be an opportunity to stand in visible, unified support of the critical conservation programs housed within the federal government, and celebrate the incredible scientists and stewards of wildlife and ecosystems. Conservation science, along with many other federal services, have faced increasing threats--especially during this shutdown. We would love to have as many partners and friends present as possible! There will be signs, snacks, great speakers, and a special guest, Ranger Rick!
A few items for former or furloughed feds from beyond Interior:
- The group FedFam has been assembling resources for shutdown support that folks have found really helpful and that you can find here.
- https://www.fedsforward.com/blog/8de01dbd-f42b-40f0-bac8-93fe7d85b43e
- Are you or someone you know a fired or furloughed worker who uses ADT for home security? Someone in a chat I’m part of shared this: “Just got off the phone with ADT my alarm company to cancel the subscription and they have a promotion (they have a lot but I wanted to straight up cancel) if you are an existing ADT customer to give you a three month credit to your account if you been fired or furloughed. So you get free home security until January.”
Note of gratitude
Next Interior is generally focused on impersonal topics about Interior and related matters even though opinions are certainly present. But I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for Emmett Duncan, one of my scout masters growing up, who passed away this week at the age of 95.
Emmett was a “real character,” full of stories and sayings and all manner of fun and knowledge. He and I spent a lot of time out on public lands, out hiking and canoeing and camping, talking and playing cards. I learned a lot of practical things from him about being outdoors, mostly safely, and different ways of viewing life. In addition to the spirit of public service I learned from my Dad and others, Emmett’s many years of military service and then work for the Postal Service were really influential to shaping my dedication to public service. I probably also learned some fun things that are OK to have forgotten these many years later...but things that were important to learn nonetheless. Emmett (and Eddie, Paul and others) guided my path to being an Eagle Scout and hold the Vigil honor in Order of the Arrow, and it wasn’t just me—with his 50 years of service to Boy Scout Troop 4 in Front Royal, Virginia, he shaped the lives of many, many young boys and men as we grew up.
If you have an Emmett in your life—or the lives of your kids or grandkids—please take a moment to thank them for their service. If you are one of those people like Emmett, thank you! And of course, my deep thanks to Emmett for the many years he shared his time, expertise, wit, and so much more with me and other kids. He made a difference.
View From Interior
Okay, I was just off of Interior’s lands for this photo, but National Park Service lands are just below the view of a lovely, starry morning, and a place where all can enjoy this view of the universe.
