The Next Interior Fellows’ Reports

Dive into the details on critical minerals and public lands

Jacob Malcom

05 Feb 2026 • 1 min read

It was a cold end of January and start of February for much of the Eastern U.S. - the Potomac River is all but completely frozen over - but Interior's ability to provide access to our public lands and waters didn't go anywhere! Photo CC-BY-SA Next Interior.

Last year, Next Interior recruited and selected two Fellows, Vanessa Raymond and Adam Auerbach, to bring their ideas and interests to bear on issues related to the Department of the Interior and its future. They carried out their fellowships throughout the fall, and we held a webinar in December where Vanessa and Adam shared their projects, some of which were more finalized, some of which were more preliminary.

Well, now it’s time to share the final reports! We’ve created a permanent repository with Figshare so that they will remain available as long as the Internet remains functioning, and you—or anyone you know—can cite them as we work for a stronger future Interior:

Check out Vanessa's and Adams reports here:

Reports at Figshare

Next week, we will have a Memo from Haley McKey, Next Interior’s former Comms Director who is now at the Carbon Business Council, who spent some time talking with Vanessa and Adam to get their thoughts on the Fellowship and what they learned along the way. We’ll re-up these reports there too!

Until then, take good care, everyone.