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Zinke's Proposal to Revamp Interior Department THE DEBATE IN PRINT Reorganizing the Administration of Public Lands: Zinke’s Proposal to Revamp Interior Department ecretary Ryan Zinke has announced his to comment on whether, in their view, Congress intention to undertake a major reorganiza- and the Trump administration should tackle a re- Stion of the Department of the Interior, al- organization effort and, if so, what it might look though the exact proposal is a moving target, as like. We asked them to respond to the Zinke pro- he has since amended it after pushback from posal and make their own suggestions. some western governors who urged him to fol- As an initial matter, should Congress take low state borders. His initial reform would move steps to clarify the Interior Department’s primary field personnel into a new regional structure that roles, and align its bureaus and regional structure would be defined by watersheds or other geo- accordingly? Is now a good time to address the graphic features. perennial question of whether the U.S. Forest Ser- At the same time, he proposed delegating vice and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric more authority to the field — including, potentially, Administration should be part of Interior’s natural giving rotating regional heads decisionmaking au- resources portfolio, rather than being in the Agri- thority for the department. Other ideas floated in culture and Commerce Departments? What have the proposal include moving one or more bureau we learned from prior formal reorganizations headquarters to a western city. Some observers (such as the break-up of the Minerals Manage- also have even discussed moving the depart- ment Service), or from other management efforts ment’s main offices from Washington to the West. to promote joint decisionmaking among the de- There are good reasons to reorganize the de- partment’s many bureaus? partment. Interior has a number of bureaus with In sum, what is the best management struc- sometimes-conflicting missions and, in years ture for a department that administers vast past, was described by some as the “Depart- holdings throughout the United States, with an ment of Everything Else.” So it is not surprising environmental charge as part of its mandate? that Interior reorganization ideas surface on a EDITOR’S NOTE: We asked Deputy Secretary of recurring basis. the Interior David Bernhardt to participate in this We have asked several experienced hands Debate, but he declined our invitation. 50 |THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2018, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org. Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2018 “With the exception of one “The process for proposal bright spot — a common development makes clear regional structure for all that this administration bureaus — it is difficult has no real intention of not to be disappointed in improving Interior but what remains a largely instead hopes to destabilize ill-defined plan to meet the department and unclear goals.” encourage staff departures.” David J. Hayes Amanda Leiter Executive Director Professor of Law NYU Law School State Energy & American University Environmental Impact Center “Pursuing the goal “These management goals of respecting local mirror qualities sought variations, the current after by various secretaries plan seems headed as they strived to better toward a one-size-fits- fulfill the department’s all prescription for the mission involving creation of regional competing goals and administrative units.” strong passions.” Patty Limerick Lynn Scarlett Faculty Director and Chair Co-Chief External Affairs Officer University of Colorado The Nature Conservancy Center of the American West “DOI surely would “A virtual restruction benefit from further would encourage organizational agencies and employees efficiencies to reduce to seek common ground longstanding problems with their counterparts stemming from in state and local fragmented and slow government and the decisionmaking.” private sector.” Peter Schaumberg Doug Wheeler Principal Senior Counsel Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. Hogan Lovells US LLP ® Copyright © 2018 Environmental Law Institute , Washington, D.C. www.eli.org. MAY/JUNE 2018 | 51 Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2018 THE DEBATE together better, and co-locating them pointed out in a State of the Union The Zinke is a good start. Setting up a Russian address, it makes no sense that two Plan Misses roulette system that gives one bureau agencies in two different departments authority over others in resolving in- (FWS at Interior, and NOAA at Com- the Mark teragency disputes, however, is sure to merce) co-regulate endangered and exacerbate infighting. threatened species. By David J. Hayes Simply put, conflicts will not be Also, climate change impacts are effectively resolved by randomly em- challenging land, water and wildlife olitical leaders find the prospect powering one bureau over others. On managers across the entire span of of reorganizing complex govern- many tough issues, Interior’s bureaus Interior. There is no playbook for mental organizations seductive. have shown that when guided by the how best to discharge stewardship PSurely, the argument goes, reorganiza- department’s common, unifying mis- responsibilities in the face of extended tions can break down silos and enable sion and purpose, they eagerly work droughts, elongated and more intense agencies to be better aligned toward together toward that end. In my expe- wildfire seasons, the spread of inva- common goals. And what better place rience, the department’s workforce is sive species, sea rise and storm surge than the Interior Department, which extraordinarily dedicated to, and proud impacts on coastal resources, and includes nearly a dozen large, distinct of, Interior’s goal of conservation, changing wildlife patterns. So wouldn’t agencies that have complex missions prudent use of our nation’s natural re- it make sense to aggressively explore that sometimes don’t line up together. sources, and honoring and protecting more collaborative science and man- From the beginning of his tenure, our historic and cultural resources. agement responses across agency lines Secretary Zinke has talked about un- On the other hand, divisive dic- to systematically analyze and address dertaking a reorganization of Interior. I tates from the top that depart from these new and already-present threats? was interested in hearing what he had Interior’s core mission and value Hopefully, a future secretary and in mind, having developed some per- system drive wedges within the de- Congress will have an appetite to pur- spectives during my two tours of duty partment that no reorganization plan sue these ideas, and more. While they as the deputy secretary of the sprawling can overcome. Zinke’s full-throated are at it, they might take a cue from department and its 70,000 employees. push to achieve energy “dominance” former Republican and Democratic Despite the hype, much still re- by expanding fossil fuel development secretaries who urged that Interior be mains unknown about the secretary’s on public lands and in offshore wa- renamed to reinforce its mission area, plans. With the exception of one ters, and his political team’s efforts to by calling it the Department of Con- bright spot — Zinke’s proposal to ignore, or outright deny, the climate servation, the Department of Energy establish a common regional structure change impacts that already are pro- and Natural Resources or, my prefer- for all of the department’s bureaus — foundly impacting every corner of the ence: the Department of Natural and it is difficult not to be disappointed in department’s vast physical and scien- Cultural Resources. what remains a largely ill-defined plan tific dominion, illustrate the point. So there is a lot to discuss when it to meet unclear goals. On a brighter note, here are better comes to a potential reorganization. The concept of co-locating major reorganization ideas that future, less But like so many tough issues ad- regional offices in hub cities, and divisive administrations might pursue. dressed in the department, a successful adopting common regional boundaries A future secretary, for example, outcome depends on dispassionate, in- for all of Interior’s bureaus, is a good could accelerate the sharing, and lever- clusive analysis undertaken by knowl- one. The department works better aging, of land management functions edgeable, nonpartisan champions of when its bureaus have more oppor- and expertise that are now stove-piped Interior’s mission, complemented by tunities to interact with each other, in three major land management agen- congressional input and broad public particularly at the regional level, where cies in Interior (the Bureau of Land engagement. the vast majority of Interior’s resources Management, the National Park Sys- Perhaps Secretary Zinke’s plan will are allocated and difficult problems are tem, and the Fish and Wildlife refuge provide the spark to pull together such addressed and solved. system), and one at the Department of an effort. I will be the first to thank But there is little else to commend Agriculture (the Forest Service). Why him, if it does. the plan. The notion that a single, ro- not extend, for example, NPS’s ex- tating regional head from one bureau traordinary talent at welcoming visitors David J. Hayes is executive director of the should have decisionmaking authority to other land management agencies State Energy & Environmental Impact Center over other bureaus in contested, multi-
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