Department of the Interior
Administration would reduce protection of endangered species
The Interior and Commerce departments unveiled a proposed retrenchment of the Endangered Species Act that would remove key provisions, such as giving similar protection to species whether they are considered “endangered” or “threatened,” said the Washington Post.
Zinke won’t dismantle any national monuments, though some might get smaller
After a controversial four-month review of 27 U.S. national monuments, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke won’t recommend that the White House do away with any of them. He did say, however, that “a handful of sites” could see their boundaries changed or shrunken, says the Associated Press.
Zinke defends massive cuts to Interior Department
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that he supports the White House's proposal to cut his department's budget by $1.6 billion, saying "this is what a balanced budget looks like."
Building a border wall will be ‘complex in some areas,’ says Zinke
There are geographic and physical challenges to building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico that will be "complex in some areas," Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said during a tele-conference. The Associated Press said Zinke cited the task of building the wall in Big Bend National Park and along the Rio Grande River, which forms nearly half of the border.