The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scienti ...

Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries. As the policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

, the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

. Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021. Following senate confirmation, former U.S. representative Deb Haaland was sworn in as the secretary of the interior, the first Native American to hold the position.

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of interior is as follows: # Deputy Secretary of the Interior #Solicitor of the Interior #Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget #Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management #Assistant Secretary for Water and Science #Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks #Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs #Director, Security, Safety, and Law Enforcement, Bureau of Reclamation #Central Region Director, US Geological Survey #Intermountain Regional Director,

#Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region) Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service #Colorado State Director, Bureau of Land Management #Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region

List of secretaries of the interior

; Parties (3) (17) (33) ; Status

References

External links

* * , - {{Navboxes , list = {{USSecInterior {{DOI agencies {{US Cabinet leaders {{US Presidential Line of Succession 1849 establishments in the United States Interior Interior

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...