1: Resource Protection
Protect the Nation's natural, cultural and heritage resources. Other Information:
Since the Department of the Interior received custody of what would eventually become Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the
Department's resource protection mandate has grown dramatically, both in terms of the numbers and types of resources involved
and in the complexity of the associated management issues. The scope of our conservation role is reflected in dozens of Federal
laws passed over the last century, among them the Antiquities Act, the National Park Service Organic Act, the Lacey Act, the
Endangered Species Act, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act. Resource protection responsibilities are divided into four elements: lands and waters, fish and wildlife, culture and
heritage, and applying science information to resource protection. Interior administers resource protection programs on thousands
of upland, wetland, and aquatic parcels within the Department's direct jurisdiction while also providing resources for conservation
activities on non-Federal lands. Many parcels enjoy special statutory status in recognition of their important ecological,
physiographic, or historical features, and may be designated as national parks, national seashores, national monuments, wilderness
areas, wild and scenic rivers, or national wildlife refuges. Interior's responsibility to protect fish and wildlife transcends
geographic boundaries. The Department is charged with protecting thousands of native plant and animal species, including more
than 1,300 with special status under the Endangered Species Act. The Department also protects many of the Nation's most important
cultural heritage resources. Assets range in size from small museum objects such as the six-inch Derringer used to assassinate
President Lincoln to the 60-foot granite carvings at Mount Rushmore. They also include such icons as the Statue of Liberty,
the Wright Brothers National Memorial, and the Washington Monument. In support of this mission, we produce scientific assessments
and information on the quality and quantity of our Nation's water resources; collect, process, integrate, archive, and provide
access to geospatial and natural resource data; and conduct multi-purpose natural science research to promote understanding
of earth processes.
Objective(s):
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