DOI Quick Facts

Current as of February 29, 2004
This page will be updated quarterly.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation’s principal conservation agency. Our mission is to protect America’s treasures for future generations, provide access to our nation’s natural and cultural heritage, offer recreation opportunities, honor our trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives and our responsibilities to island communities, conduct scientific research, provide wise stewardship of energy and mineral resources, foster sound use of land and water resources, and conserve and protect fish and wildlife. The work that we do affects the lives of millions of people; from the family taking a vacation in one of our national parks to the children studying in one of our Indian schools.

Interior is a large, decentralized agency with over 78,315 employees and 183,000 volunteers located at approximately 2,400 operating locations across the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and freely associated states. We discharge our responsibilities on a $14 billion total annual budget. DOI raises more than $9 billion in revenues collected from energy, mineral, grazing, timber, recreation, land sales, etc.

Since Congress created the Department of the Interior in 1849, it has become the steward for:

Land

	262 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management
	96 million acres managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service
	84.4 million acres managed by the National Park Service
	8.7 million acres managed by the Bureau of Reclamation associated with reclamation projects.
	55.7 million acres managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Over 180,000 acres of abandoned coal mine sites have been reclaimed through the Office of Surface Mining's Abandoned Mine Land Program.

Water

DOI has responsibility for managing a variety of water and underwater resources.  The Bureau of Reclamation manages 476 dams and 348 reservoirs that deliver irrigation water to one of every five western farmers and provide water for 31 million people. The Minerals Management Service has jurisdiction over approximately 1.76 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, on which it manages about 7,300 active oil and gas leases on 42 million acres.  The U.S. Geological Survey conducts groundwater and surface water studies with offices in all 50 states.

Recreation and Cultural Opportunities

66.6 million visits to 3,300 recreational sites provided by the Bureau of Land Management    279 million visits to 388 units, including parks, monuments, seashore sites, battlefields and other cultural and recreational sites provided by National Park Service    39 million visits to 544 wildlife refuges provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service    90 million visits to 308 recreation sites provided by the Bureau of Reclamation    For more information on camping, fishing, archeology, bird watching and other recreational opportunities on Interior and other Federal lands, go to recreation.gov

Native American Lands and Needs

55.7 million acres of land belong to Indian tribes and individuals    The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides education services to 47,671 Indian children in 184 schools and dormitories    The Bureau manages relationships with 562 Indian tribes

U.S. Energy Needs

Energy projects on federally managed lands and offshore areas supply about 28 percent of the nation’s energy production. This includes:

34.5% of natural gas    34.7% of oil    42% of coal    17% of hydro power    48% of geothermal

Scientific Research

The U.S. Geological Survey scientists:

Monitor, analyze, interpret, and disseminate information on earthquakes, volcanoes, and the geology and topography of the United States.    Monitor and assess water quality, streamflows and ground water at thousands of sites across the nation    Produce more than 100,000 different maps    Estimate world and United States energy and mineral supplies    Conduct a wide range of research on biology, geology, and water to provide land and resource managers with the information they need to make sound decisions, and to help mitigate the effects of natural hazards

Fish and Wildlife

The Department seeks to work with others to conserve, manage, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of all Americans. DOI is responsible for:

Improving habitats for migratory birds, certain marine animals, freshwater and anadromous fish, as well as providing public enjoyment of these resources    Protecting 1,848 endangered or threatened species, 1,258 are U.S.    Preventing and controlling invasive species

Physical Inventory:

Bureau Quick Facts:

National Park Service
Created by legislation enacted August 25, 1916, the National Park Service mission is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

	Of the 388 units in the National Park System, at least one park unit is found in every State except Delaware.
	The National Park Service manages 84.4 million acres, which includes 54.6 million acres in Alaska.
	About 3.6 percent of the United States is part of the National Park System.
	The largest National Park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, comprising 13.2 million acres.
	The largest National Park in the contiguous States is Death Valley National Park in CA covering 3.3 million acres.
	Yellowstone, established in 1872, is the nation’s first and oldest National Park.

Fish and Wildlife Service
The history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) dates to the 1871 establishment of a Bureau of Fisheries. A second predecessor agency, the Bureau of Biological Survey, was established in 1885. One of FWS’s major elements, the National Wildlife Refuge System, dates to the creation of the first National Wildlife Refuge by President Theodore Roosevelt at Pelican Island in Florida on March 14, 1903.

Working with others, the FWS mission is to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

	FWS administers 544 National Wildlife Refuges covering about 96 million acres.
	FWS operates 69 National Fish Hatcheries that produce 150 million fish annually.
	1,848 species are listed as threatened or endangered. The U.S.A. species account for two thirds of those listed, or 1,258 species.
	About 32 million acres of privately owned land are involved in Habitat Conservation Plans under the Endangered Species Act.

Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was administratively established by the Secretary of War on March 11, 1824. The BIA mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.

	The BIA acts as the principal agent of the United States in carrying out government-to-government relationships, within the spirit of Indian self-determination, between the United States and the 562 sovereign, federally-recognized American Indian tribes. This number of tribes includes 223 village groups in Alaska.
	The BIA provides a wide range of programs for American Indians and Alaska Natives that cover almost all of the service areas provided by other Federal entities with the exception of defense and healthcare. The services provided include education, law enforcement, agriculture, roads, housing, employment, training, and judicial and social services.
	DOI is trustee for about 55.7 million acres of land that belong to Indian tribes and individuals – 46 million acres of which are managed by tribal governments, and the remaining 10 million acres are owned by individual Indians.
	The largest reservation is the Navajo Reservation encompassing about 16 million acres of land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Many of the smaller reservations cover less than 1,000 acres with the smallest covering less that 100 acres.
	The Department of the Interior manages 184 Indian schools serving 47,671 students, one of only two school systems managed by the federal government.

Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management was formed in 1946 with the merger of the Grazing Service and General Land Office. It is the mission of the BLM to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, many BLM lands – unlike National Parks or National Wildlife Refuges – are intended to be managed for "multiple uses," including extraction of resources and intensive recreation as well as conservation. Special BLM areas are set aside primarily for landscape conservation while allowing traditional uses such as grazing.

	BLM manages about 262 million surface acres of federally owned land, located primarily in 12 Western States, or about one-eighth of the U.S. land area. 86 million acres of this land are in Alaska (about one-fourth of the State). 47.8 million acres are in Nevada (about two-thirds of the State).
	BLM managed land represents 42% of lands managed by the federal government.
	The BLM manages a wide variety of resources and uses, including energy and minerals; timber; forage; wild horse and burro populations; fish and wildlife habitat; wilderness areas; archaeological, paleontological, and historical sites; and other natural heritage values.
	BLM also administers onshore minerals underlying federal lands – a total of about 700 million subsurface acres of minerals. Production from onshore federal lands accounts for: * 42% of national coal production, * 11% of national gas production, * 5% of domestic oil production.

Office of Surface Mining
The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) was created to help carry out the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The mission of the OSM is to ensure that coal mines are operated in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining, assure that the land is restored to beneficial use following mining, and mitigate the effects of past mining by aggressively pursuing reclamation of abandoned mine lands.

	Since 1977, OSM has provided more than $1 billion in grants to 24 States and 3 Indian tribes to assist in funding the regulation of active coal mines.
	Since 1979, OSM has provided $3.4 billion in grants to States and 15 Indian tribes to clean up mine sites that were abandoned before passage of the 1977 Act.
	More than 180,000 acres of abandoned coal mine sites have been reclaimed under the OSM Abandoned Mine Land Program.

Minerals Management Service
The Minerals Management Service was created by the Secretary of the Interior on January 19, 1982. The mission of MMS is to manage the mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in an environmentally sound and safe manner and to timely collect, verify and distribute mineral revenues from federal waters and federal and Indian lands. The Outer Continental Shelf begins approximately 3 - 200 nautical miles off coastal shorelines and extends 200 nautical miles out to sea, covering about 1.76 billion acres in waters ranging in depth from a few feet to thousands of feet.

	Over 23.5 percent of domestic natural gas and 29.7 percent of domestic oil production occurs on the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf)
	Since 1974, the MMS Environmental Studies Program has spent over $650 million and completed over 900 research projects. These studies encompass biological, physical oceanographic, ecological, and socioeconomic issues associated with offshore mineral leasing and development
	Since it's inception in 1982, MMS has collected and distributed on average, over $6 billion annually from Federal offshore leases and from onshore Federal and Indian leases
	About 63% of the money collected goes to the U.S. Treasury, 23% to special purpose funds, such as the Land & Water Conservation Fund and the National Historic Preservation Fund; 11% to States; and % to American Indians

U.S. Geological Survey The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was created by an act of Congress on March 3, 1879. It is the principal federal agency responsible for the scientific research, monitoring, collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of natural hazard, geologic, water, geographic, and biological information.

The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable unbiased information to:

	Describe and understand the Earth
	Minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters
	Assists in managing water, biological, energy, and mineral resources
	Enhance and protect our quality of life
	Prepare estimates of world and U.S. energy supplies

USGS has scientists, technicians and support staff in every state with a total of approximately 9,746 employees. Production and distribution facilities manage more than 100,000 different maps and over 600 terabytes of cartographic and digital data, and archive aerial photographs and global satellite data. Volcano observatories are located in a number of states.  The USGS also operates National Earthquake Information and Landslide Information Centers, the National Water Quality Laboratory, the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility, the Nation's library of 30 years of global imagery in the EROS Data Center, and biological research and science centers. The USGS is affiliated with 40 Cooperative Research Units, and 54 state Water Resources Research Institutes.

Bureau of Reclamation
Created by Congress on June 17, 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) mission is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

	BOR is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 Western States.
	BOR manages 476 dams and 348 reservoirs with the capacity to store 245 million acre-feet of water, delivers water to one of every five western farmers for about 10 million acres of irrigated land, and provides more than 31 million people with water for municipal, rural and industrial uses.
	BOR is the nation’s second largest producer of hydroelectric power, generating more than 42 billion kilowatt hours of energy each year from 58 power plants.
	There are about 8.7 million acres of Reclamation-owned and administered lands (federal lands) associated with reclamation projects.

Office Quick Facts:

Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) was established to provide for the more effective management of, and accountability for, the Secretary’s trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and individual Indians. Toward this end, OST oversees and coordinates Indian trust asset management reform efforts to ensure the establishment of consistent policies, procedures, systems and practices Department-wide. OST also has authority over and responsibility for the management of funds held in trust for Indian tribes and individual Indians.

Office of Insular Affairs

The Office of Insular Affairs’ (OIA) mission is to develop more efficient and effective government in the insular areas by recommending policies, providing financial and technical assistance, and by strengthening federal-insular relationships.

OIA has administrative responsibility for coordinating federal policy in the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and oversight of federal programs and funds in the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

The insular areas now have popularly elected executive and legislative branches of government and administer their own affairs. OIA develops and implements the federal budget for insular area activities, provides technical assistance to the insular governments, and analyzes programs and economic and political developments as they relate to the unique federal relationship with the islands.

Office of the Inspector General

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) independently and objectively performs audits and investigations for the Department of the Interior, assessing risks and vulnerabilities that could inhibit the Department's ability to accomplish its mission. The OIG keeps the Secretary and Congress fully informed of deficiencies relating to programs and operations and continually addresses the public's demand for accountability.