Former Interior leaders warn proposed agency cuts would harm public lands, environment, and tribal relations.

A group of former Interior Department leaders warns that proposed cuts to the agency—delayed but not canceled—would severely harm public land management, environmental protection, and tribal relations. They stress the department’s vital role in overseeing national parks, wildlife refuges, energy development, and water resources, cautioning that reductions could undermine conservation, climate resilience, and federal trust obligations. The cuts are part of a broader federal effort to streamline government, but former officials argue they would compromise long-term ecological and economic stability, especially in Western and rural communities.