Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today praised the Senate’s confirmation by unanimous consent of four members of his policy team. They are David Longly Bernhardt, Solicitor; C. Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management; Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service; and Robert W. Johnson, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. The Senate completed action on these confirmations early Saturday morning, Sept. 30, 2006.

“I am pleased and gratified by the Senate’s unanimous confirmation of key members of our leadership team at Interior,” Kempthorne said. “These outstanding individuals will provide the experience, commitment and energy needed to carry out our diverse missions, from conserving our national parks, to carrying out environmentally responsible energy initiatives on public lands, to developing sustainable solutions to the West’s water supply needs. I have every confidence they will do an outstanding job and am delighted to welcome them aboard.”

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Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced the designation of National Historic Landmarks in California, Florida, New York, Georgia and Nevada in recognition of their importance in interpreting the heritage and history of the United States. The sites range from the Florida home of a Pulitzer Prize author, to a school dormitory in Georgia important in the civil rights movement, to one of the most significant experiments in post-war American domestic architecture in California.  more 

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is joining with the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality to host listening sessions on cooperative conservation and environmental partnerships. Planned for a number of locations around the country during August and September, the listening sessions will give citizens an opportunity to exchange ideas on incentives, partnership programs, and regulations that can improve results and promote cooperative conservation and environmental partnerships.   more

• Dates and Locations of Cooperative Conservation Listening Sessions

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The Department of the Interior, comprising the eight bureaus listed at the right:

• Manages 1 out of every 5 acres of land in the US.
• Provides the resources for nearly one-third of the Nation's energy.
• Works with 561 federally recognized Indian Tribes.
• Administers U.S. responsibility to four overseas Territories.
• Provides water to 31 million citizens through 820 dams and reservoirs.
• Receives almost 500 million visits each year to 390 units of the national park system, 545 wildlife refuges and vast areas of multiple use lands.
• Provides opportunities for hunters and anglers, working to improve habitat on millions of acres of public and private lands.