One midwinter sport around the nation's capital these days is guessing which US Department of the Interior agencies might have to move their headquarters from Washington to locations closer to the federal lands and waters they oversee. To sort this out, it might be wise to start with Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke's Jan. 10 video message about the department's possible reorganization.
He began by observing that both Gifford Pinchot, who was the first US Forest Service chief from 1910 to 1915, and Colorado River explorer John Wesley Powell were both keenly aware of the importance of protecting national treasures.
"Taking an inspiration from Powell's concept of watersheds, we're looking at reshaping our current bureau-based system of management and moving to a system based on watersheds, ecosystems, and science-rather than the current state or regional boundaries," Zinke said.
This would let DOI and its agencies use a system-level approach to better manage watersheds, trail systems, infrastructure requirements, recreational access, wildlife corridors, and other important resources, the secretary said.
"This change will require the bureaus within the department to work more closely together on key management decisions and have a formalized structure for multidepartment, state, [and] tribal coordination and consultation," Zinke said.
Some DOI agencies already work together on matters such as firefighting, he noted. "It's important to maintain the traditions and uniforms of various bureaus, but better integration at the ecosystem level for such missions as [the National Environmental Policy Act], permits, habitats, and recreation is what we need to do to be better stewards in the next century," Zinke said.
There would be little change, if any, in personnel, budget, and other administrative functions, "but how we operate and work together within an ecosystem will be more joint and more collaborative in approach," he said.
Frontline responsibilities
"To make it work, it also will require giving more flexibility, resources, and decision-making to the frontline superintendents and managers so the right action can be quickly made without excessive paperwork and burdensome administrative requirements," Zinke said. "It will require our scientists to reside in the field doing research and not in the office writing grant proposals asking permission to do research."
The focus will be delivering frontline employees assets they need to make better decisions, he said. It's important to start discussing possible changes now because 16% of DOI's workforce is at retirement age now, and nearly 40% will be at that point in another 5 years, Zinke said.
The message established a general framework. Specifics will be harder to come by because there are so many significant challenges. Several will be considered in this space in the coming months.
