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U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Interior

Federal Agency

Appears in 4 stories

Stories

US finalizes Colorado River plan forcing steep water cuts on three states

Rule Changes

Wrote and signed the final plan

Farmers and cities across the Southwest just learned how much less river water they will get. On August 22, the US Department of the Interior signed rules cutting Arizona, California and Nevada by about 1.25 million acre-feet a year, roughly 21% of their Colorado River supply. Arizona takes the deepest cut.

Updated 16 hours ago

Trump’s permitting crackdown strands U.S. wind and solar boom

Rule Changes

Ordered by a federal court to stop restricting wind and solar permits, but appealing while wind approvals on public land stay stalled

Trump promised to "unleash American energy." A federal judge disagreed: in April 2026, Chief Judge Denise Casper blocked five Interior Department policies that had frozen wind and solar permits nationwide, including Secretary Doug Burgum's rule requiring his personal sign-off on every renewable decision.

Updated Aug 8

The Western Arctic rule war: BLM’s 2024 NPR-A protections are officially gone

Rule Changes

Directed and defended the deregulatory reversal and Alaska leasing acceleration

BLM's rollback of the 2024 NPR-A protections isn't new news—but today is when it becomes real. As of December 17, 2025, the rescission is officially in effect, wiping out the Biden-era rule that tried to hardwire stronger guardrails into how the Western Arctic gets developed.

Updated May 15

Trump turns the southern border into military ground

Force in Play

Transferring public lands for use as National Defense Areas

Donald Trump has quietly turned long stretches of the southern border into de facto military bases. Under a new system of National Defense Areas, soldiers can stop migrants, hold them, and help prosecutors charge them as trespassers on military land.

Updated May 11