Department+of+the+Interior


 * __The Department of the Interior__**

Secretary: Ken Salazar

Assumed office: January 20, 2009
A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator and Attorny General from Colorado.

==== The Department of the Interior protects America's heritage and cultures, this includes honoring its tribal communities. They administer programs that relate to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. They tend to matters of territorial or insular areas. ====

[[image:michelle_obama_2009_dept_interior_native_american_shawl_2.jpg caption="Meeting at the Department of Interior in which First Lady Michelle Obama is presented with a Native American shawl"]]
==== This Department also preserves America's land and natural resources. Their goal is to protect Americas "Great Outdoors" so that they will still be there for the enjoyment of the future generations. They focus on clean land and water, and replenishing area's that have been damaged. This includes the induction and preservation of National Parks ==== ======== ==== Part of the preservation of America for the future include's new energy sources. The Department of the Interior want's to use their resources to help America produce more energy from renewable sources. ====

The Department of Interior is made up of the following segments:

 * ==== Office of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Management ====
 * ==== Bureau of Indian Affairs ====
 * ==== Bureau of Land Management ====
 * ==== Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement ====
 * ==== Bureau of Reclamation ====
 * ==== Federal Executive Boards ====
 * ==== Interior Museum ====
 * ==== National Park Service ====
 * ==== Office of Insular Affairs ====
 * ==== Office of Surface Mining ====
 * ==== United States Fish and Wildlife Service ====
 * ==== United States Geological Survey ====

As well as the Secretary, Assisent Secretary, and Deputy Assisent Secretary.
History: In 1849, Robert Walker Secretary of the Treasury stated that many federal offices were a part of departments that they were hardly related to or helpful to. For example the General Land Office and the Indian Affairs office, He suggested that such bureaus should be put together into what was to become the Department of the Interior.This is reason that many refer to the Department of Interior as "The Department of Everything Else".

The Spring of that same year, after two weeks in Congress, a bill to create the Department was passed.