This has been a busy week for Interior and for Next Interior, even with the continued shutdown. We are again excited to be joined by the intrepid Tony Irish for a wrap-up of the RIF court case, then we have a summary of other news, including about Next Interior, and a quick survey for you, dear readers. If you are in the DC area and want an action item today, 3-5pm Eastern:

Reductions In Force (RIF) news - Tony 

As expected, it was a busy week in the Northern District of California for the Shutdown RIF lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and seven other unions against numerous agencies and officials of the federal government, including Interior. Thursday, Friday, and Monday saw assorted filings in support of (by the plaintiff unions) or opposition to (by the defendant agencies) the motion for preliminary injunction filed by plaintiffs last Monday (a preliminary injunction is generally a form of equitable remedy to prevent irreparable harm to a party during the lengthy process of a court case, here the primary remedy sought was a prohibition on RIF notices being issued that plaintiffs believe to be premised on an unlawful basis). On Tuesday the court held an in-person hearing on the motion, orally (mostly) granted the motion for preliminary injunction, and late in the night issued a lengthy written order explaining the court’s reasoning and clearly delineating the scope of the injunction.

Contrary to some media reports, the injunction is not so broad as to prohibit the issuance of any RIF notice during the shutdown. Rather, it solely prohibits the issuance of RIF notices during and because of the shutdown in any PPA (program, project or activity) or competitive area that includes any bargaining unit or member represented by one of the eight plaintiff unions. If a competitive area (what Interior is using) falls into that category, all employees, whether union members or not, are protected from RIF while the injunction is in effect. This at a minimum temporarily protects the 2,050 positions in 89 competitive areas Interior disclosed it was intending to imminently abolish earlier in the litigation. That disclosure was made before NTEU, IFPTE, and AFT joined as plaintiffs, so to the extent Interior may have RIFs planned in other competitive areas, those with NTEU, IFPTE, and AFT representation will also fall within the scope of the RIF.

Additionally, the court ordered each agency to file by Tuesday, November 4 “an accounting of any RIFs that have been issued on or after October 1, or that were in preparation at the time of this Court’s [various court orders that spanned October 15 through October 28].” The accounting must at a minimum include each impacted competitive area, whether the competitive area includes anyone covered by the injunction, the total number of employees in the competitive area, and the number of employees in that competitive area protected by the court’s injunction (which should always either be zero or the number of employees in the area due to the scope of the injunction).

Though the current relief and promise of further information regarding Interior’s planned RIFs is welcome, it may not be lasting. Three issues are in play that could alter the relief:

• First, the government has asserted that Interior’s RIFs predated the government shutdown and were in no way motivated by or pursuant to the OMB and OPM shutdown RIF guidance that is the basis of the case, and therefore Interior should be excluded from the injunction. At the hearing the judge indicated that the existing record before the court is conflicted on that point and ordered an evidentiary hearing to better elucidate and understand the relevant facts. The judge does appear somewhat open to excluding agencies from the injunction if they can demonstrate that their RIF plans were unconnected to the shutdown, though plaintiffs have also advanced arguments that appropriations law would prohibit the RIF activities during a shutdown regardless and such agencies should remain enjoined. 
• Second, the government is widely expected to appeal the preliminary injunction and could obtain partial or total relief at the 9th Circuit or Supreme Court. 
• Third, the plaintiffs’ legal case is partly premised on the shutdown itself, so what life the case has once Congress and the President finally make appropriations for FY26 is unclear, at least to me. 

Whether any one of these three dominoes will fall before the 4th and Interior otherwise has to make its RIF accounting remains to be seen.

Those interested in reading the judge’s reasoning as well as the precise terms of the preliminary injunction can find the order containing both here. All filings in the case to date (and future filings as they are made and added to the system) are available here. 

We will continue to provide further updates as the litigation proceeds. Fed-focused reporting outlets including Government Executive and Federal News Network have also been timely reporting on significant developments in the case.

Other news of note

Resources

• For parks and other Interior lands, the effects of the shutdown continue to be felt, including for businesses in gateway communities. Oh, and Sen. Lee has resumed a new line of attack on our public lands.
• Wildlife news from Interior this week included (a) the Senate voting to allow the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan to control invasive Barred Owls to protect endangered Spotted Owls; and (b) growing realization of the conflict between the administration’s and Interior’s “energy dominance” agenda and state priorities like Wyoming’s wildlife corridors.
• On the multiple use front: (a) public comment on the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule is due on 10 Nov, and here’s an example of how you can have a say; (b) it’s unclear what USDA’s push for supporting livestock means for Interior’s lands but it sure seems at odds with the President’s bailout of Argentina; and (c) a good intro to a key critical minerals issue from the Post.

Science and knowledge

For this issue, a focus on climate science news, including: 

• a new paper that includes some Interior authors, Toward a shared vision for climate-informed resource stewardship; 
• an assessment of state-level climate adaptation plans; and 
• the release of the 2025 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, which may not have a core focus for Interior, but think about issues like visitation to parks, refuges, and other public lands and the effects of climate change on health and well-being.

Tribes

• Tribal leaders told the Senate how the shutdown and agency RIFs are harming Native programs and violating Trust obligations.
• Good follow-up on the damage from the western Alaska typhoon.
• “Denying a Seat, Silencing a Voice: Why Adelita Grijalva Must Be Sworn In Now”
• The shutdown drove the Cherokee Nation to declare a food emergency; and how working for food sovereignty, including through philanthropy, could prevent this kind of problem.
• The shutdown and RIFs also have significant implications (=harms) for Indian Country education (the letter is focused on Department of Education but same issues for Interior).

Other news

• Our focus is on Interior and federal staffing losses, but it’s important to also keep an eye on the broader context with big upticks in layoffs.
• Bill Gates is just wrong on climate action for many reasons—here’s a start for why—including because his myopic view forgets that in addition to the impacts to people, there’s an entire planet of ecosystems and species that can’t just be adapted to climate change. And remember, we all depend on nature.
• While I remain skeptical of most any GenAI, it is good to see people increasingly recognize the importance of the human element, the limits, and its application as “normal technology.”
• Action item: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility webinar, Empowering Change: A Guide to Whistleblower Rights and Anonymous Activism, 06 November at 6pm Eastern.
• Action item: Stories can be a powerful way to help move people to act for people and nature, and you have them, your friends and colleagues and family have them. Consider sharing stories through the America The Beautiful For All Story Directory project and helping others share!

Next Interior news

• We’re going to transition to Next Interior Co-op! While that’s getting underway, you can take action, today!
  • Get involved and shape the discussion of what Interior needs—and can do—for energy and the environment in Congress through an engagement with SEEC.
  • Help us test the online community platforms for Next Interior Co-op, regardless your prior experience with those platforms.
  • Tell us one thing you want and one thing you do not want the Co-op to do.
  • If you know of lawyers or firms who may be willing to help with Co-op matters, please reach out to co-op@nextinterior.org and we’ll get back to you. 
• Yesterday we released an app and library of fact sheets to help people find Interior’s Contributions to the country. Get a quick rundown of how to use the tools and deeper background here.

Reader survey

Click here if reading in your email, otherwise the form is embedded:

Spooky season

We’re living in concerning enough times as it is, so no need to add scariness…but hope you will enjoy some slightly pumpkins!