The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

. 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 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

, the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. 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, scientif ...

Board. The secretary is a member of the

United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in Cabinet Room (White House), a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of ...

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

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 Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949,

Rogers Morton Rogers Clark Ballard Morton (September 19, 1914 – April 19, 1979) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce during the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, ...

, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

246,400, as of January 2024. The current interior secretary is

Doug Burgum Douglas James Burgum ( ; born August 1, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 55th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior since February 1, 2025, under President Donald Tru ...

, who was sworn in on February 1, 2025.

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of the 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 The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...

#Central Region Director,

US Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

#Intermountain Regional Director,

#Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region) Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service #Colorado State Director,

#Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region

List of secretaries of the interior

; Parties (3) (17) (34) ; Status

References

External links

* * , - {{Navboxes , list = {{USSecInterior {{DOI agencies {{US Cabinet leaders {{US presidential line of succession Secretary of the Interior Interior Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Secretary of the Interior