The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is the principle federal agency managing public land RESOURCES in the United States. Created in 1849, the DOI manages almost half a billion acres of federal property. The Department states as its mission:
1. to encourage and provide for the appropriate management, preservation, and operation of the Nation’s public lands and natural resources for use and enjoyment both now and in the future;
2. to carry out related scientific research and investigations in support of these objectives;
3. to develop and use resources in an environmentally sound manner, and provide an equitable return on these resources to the American taxpayer;
4. to carry out trust responsibilities of the U.S. Government with respect to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Since its inception, the DOI has managed a wide array of public projects including the water system and jail in the District of Columbia, the 1850s boundary with Mexico, U.S. trust territories, schools, hospitals, patents, and public parks. Today it is divided into 8 bureaus, each managing different aspects of federal natural resources. The roles of most DOI bureaus are obvious by their name: the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Indian Affairs, Geological Survey, Land Management, Minerals Management, and Surface Mining. The Bureau of Reclamation manages federal dams, power plants, and canals, mostly in the western United States. The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest WHOLESALER of water and secondlargest producer of hydroelectric power in the country. Over the years, many DOI bureaus have been the center of controversy. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been criticized for heavy-handed treatment of Native Americans and misuse of funds. The Bureau of Land Management has been criticized for mismanagement and subsidizing animal grazing on federal lands. Surface Mining has been challenged for not protecting natural resources during mining operations; and Reclamation has been denounced for water subsidies to western farmers, impairing salmon fisheries, and damming natural waterways. James Watt, DOI Secretary during the Reagan administration, became the focus of environmental critics. Drilling in the Arctic National Refuge, proposed in 2000 by the George W. Bush administration, is under the DOI’s direction.