FOIA Repository – U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary

U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary FOIA Requests + Responses

Organized by date

2016-11-7: Request for records related to Assistant Secretary’s approval of Spring Creek coal mining plan in Montana.

2017-1-23: Request for records related to Assistant Secretary’s approval of Colowyo Collom coal mining plan in Colorado.

2017-1-26: Request for records related to January 20, 2017 memo regarding correspondence within the Department of the Interior.

2017-3-12: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3338 regarding pause on federal coal leasing and development of programmatic environmental impact statement for federal coal program.

2017-4-3: Request for records related to San Juan coal mine mining plan environmental impact statement.

2017-4-11: Request for records related to Secretarial Orders 3348 and 3349 regarding lifting of the moratorium on new coal leasing and withdrawal of Interior Department climate policies.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for Vincent DeVito, Energy Policy Counselor to the Secretary.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for Katharine MacGregor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Lands and Minerals.

2017-7-7: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3354, which directs agencies to remove impediments to oil and gas and coal leasing on public lands.

2017-8-22: Request for records related to implementation of Secretarial Order 3354.

2017-8-31: Request for communication records for Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.

2017-10-10: Request for records related to October 6, 2017 press release regarding oil and gas lease sales.

2017-10-19: Request for records related to November 16, 2017 Kathleen MacGregor appearance and presentation in Grand Junction to Grand Junction Petroleum and Mining Club.

2017-10-30: Request for records related to Department of the Interior “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-12-16: Request for records related to agency compliance with Secretarial Order 3355.

2017-12-25: Request for communication records for Kathleen Benedetto.

2018-1-4: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3357.

2018-1-4: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3358.

2018-1-4: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3359.

2018-1-4: Request for records related to Secretarial Order 3360.

2018-1-5: Request for communication records for Heather Swift.

2018-1-5: Request for communication records for Joe Balash, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.

2018-1-5: Request for communication records for Luke Bullock.

2018-1-5: Request for records related to Jim Bridger coal mining plan in Wyoming.

2018-1-12: Request for records related to Greens Hollow coal mining plan in Utah.

2018-1-15: Request for records related to Rosebud coal mining plan environmental impact statement.

2018-1-19: Request for records related to the Interior Department’s oversight of the Bureau of Land Management’s amendment to the Resource Management Plan for the Farmington Field Office of New Mexico.

2018-1-29: Request for records related to January 28, 2018 op-ed published by David Bernhardt in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

2018-2-1: Request for records related to Interior Department’s involvement in Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memorandum 2018-034, which rolled back federal oil and gas leasing policies.

2018-2-9: Request for FOIA logs for Interior Department and Interior Department agencies.

2018-2-9: Request for records related to Interior Department’s role in Bureau of Land Management report on “streamlining.”

2018-2-22: Request for records related to King II coal lease modification decision and coal lease application in Colorado.

2018-2-24: Follow up request for communication records for David Bernhardt, Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

2018-2-24: Follow up request for communication records for Katharine MacGregor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals.

2018-2-24: Follow up request for communication records for Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior.

2018-2-24: Follow up request for communication records for Vincent DeVito, Energy Policy Counselor to the Secretary.

2018-3-9: Request for records related to decision to cancel March 2018 oil and gas lease sale in New Mexico.

2018-3-21: Request for records related to deferral of oil and gas lease parcels in Montana as part of March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-5-11: Request for records related to Jim Bridger and King II mining plan approvals.

2018-6-4: Request for records related to June 2018 Royalty Policy Committee meeting in Albuquerque, NM.

Megan Sweeney

Wild Places Intern

Megan is a rising 3L at the University of Oregon School of Law. Originally from Jupiter, Florida, she grew up scuba diving, snorkeling, and hiking in a state with unique ecosystems such as everglades and coral reefs, shaping her into the environmentally conscious individual she is today. Working at a sea turtle hospital and watching toxic algae blooms negatively affect both coral reefs and endangered species inspired her to drive positive change and pursue a career in environmental law.

She attended the University of Florida and graduated in 2018 with a BS in Marine Science with minors in Mathematics and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. After graduation, she worked as an intern at JLA Geosciences, a hydrogeological contracting firm where she learned the importance of sustainable water and land management. Megan is very involved with the environmental law community through her leadership roles in the Land Air Water Environmental Law Society. Megan helped organize both the 2020 and 2021 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) through her positions as a 1L Representative and a Conference Co-Director. During her 3L year she will serve as a Land Air Water Co-Director. She has also been involved with the University Oregon’s Environmental and Natural Resources Center as a Fellow on the Oceans, Coasts, and Watersheds Project.

Her research is focused on Biocriteria and reforming the CWA to better protect coral reefs and better address agricultural runoff. During her 2L year she also competed in the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. During the summer of 2020 she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. In the fall of 2020, she had a judicial externship at the U.S. District Court District of Oregon working for the Honorable Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai. Megan is very excited to gain further litigation skills by working in the Wildlife Program at the Portland Office of WildEarth Guardians.

Tessa Archibald

WIldlife Program Intern

Tessa Archibald is a passionate animal lover with a desire to preserve our natural world and increase respect for all species. She obtained a BS in Biopsychology from Tufts University and is currently working towards a Masters in Animals and Public Policy at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. She hopes that an understanding of complex human animal interactions and policy will promote more empathetic management of wildlife across all lands!

Joe Bushyhead

Endangered Species Policy Advocate

Joe Bushyhead joined Guardians in May 2021 as our Endangered Species Policy Advocate. Based in Denver, he works to protect imperiled Western species as well as the integrity of the Endangered Species Act itself.

Prior to Guardians, Joe spent seven years as a staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and clerked for the Honorable Tena Campbell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. He holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Before law school, he worked for the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resource Management on, among other projects, a study of Chinook salmon in Idaho’s South Fork of the Salmon River watershed.

Hailey Zimber

Research Intern

My name is Hailey Zimber and I am a rising senior majoring in Politics at Whitman College. I am thrilled to be joining WildEarth Guardians as a research and community organizing intern for the Greater Gila Campaign. As a born and raised New Mexican, the Greater Gila is one of the silos of wilderness that have shaped who I know myself to be. Protecting the Gila means protecting myself, my state, and my community, and for this reason, this position is especially meaningful to me.

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner

Tricia, as a child of military parents, spent much of her childhood moving frequently in the U.S. and abroad, but calls El Paso, TX home. Growing up on the banks of the (often dry) Rio Grande and the water scarcity of the Southwest sparked a life-long interest in finding solutions for water conflicts in the arid and semi-arid American West. Tricia received a B.S. in Geography with a focus on human-environment connection from New Mexico State University. Her research while there centered on water management across borders. She spent 5 years working with the Southwest Environmental Center working to protect and restore the wildlife and wild places of the Southwest borderlands, particularly focused on the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf. In 2015, Tricia moved to Washington state to pursue a graduate degree, receiving an M.S. in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University. Her thesis, which conducted an adaptive capacity assessment of the Upper Klamath Basin, utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She worked for nearly four years on salmon recovery as the Lead Entity Coordinator for the Yakima Basin in central Washington, bringing together a diverse group of interests and perspectives. Tricia joined WildEarth Guardians as the Rio Grande Campaigner in 2021.

FOIA Repository – U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary

U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary FOIA Requests + Responses

Organized by date

WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

Megan Sweeney

Wild Places Intern

Contact

Tessa Archibald

WIldlife Program Intern

Contact

Joe Bushyhead

Endangered Species Policy Advocate

Contact

Hailey Zimber

Research Intern

Dustin Martin

Member, Board of Directors

Francine D. Spang-Willis

Member, Board of Directors

Contact

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner