Scientific Integrity Policy
Date: December 16, 2014
Series: Departmental Management
Part 305: Departmental Science Efforts
Chapter 3: Integrity of Scientific and Scholarly Activities
Department of Interior Activity
Interior’s Stealth Scientific Integrity Policy Slithers Out
Agency Will Self-Police Alleged Political Manipulation of Science in Secret
Petition to DOI – TAPS Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement – 06-12-2024 (PDF)
Petition to complete a supplemental environmental Impact statement for the trans-alaska pipeline system & plan for ...
Legal Petition to Interior Department Urges Climate Analysis, Phasedown of Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline
Several environmental groups filed a legal petition today asking the DOI for a new analysis of the climate damage ...
Letter to DOI and BLM – National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center – 5-15-2024 (PDF)
Letter to U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management regarding the National ...
COMMENTARY | Countdown for PEER’s Regulatory Petitions
Read the latest updates on eleven of the regulatory petitions we've worked on this year. With an election just ...
Letter to BLM Director and Attorney General – BLM’s FOIA Backlog -4-30-2024 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to BLM Director Stone Manning and Attorney General Garland Requesting to Meet Regarding BLM's ...
Letter to U.S. House Representatives – Opposition to H.R. 615 -4-29-2024 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to U.S. House Representatives Regarding Opposition to H.R. 615
TO: U.S. House ...
COMMENTARY | What will BLM’s new Public Lands Rule Mean for Conservation?
The DOI's final Public Lands Rule was designed to elevate conservation to equal status with traditional energy ...
Report on Abuse of Indian Students Finally Surfaces
Lawsuit Pried Haskell School Probe Out of Bureau of Indian Education
Comment – FWS Proposed Rules for National Wildlife Refuge System – 3-4-2024 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Written comments to FWS regarding proposed rulemaking and policy updates for the National Wildlife ...
Letter to DOI Inspector General – Exemptions of Habitat Protections -1-9-2024 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to DOI IG Greenblatt to Update Request for Investigation (Into Exemptions of Habitat ...
COMMENTARY | PEER’s Response to Interior’s Law Enforcement Report
The Department of Interior's long-awaited report highlighted the declining staffing levels within its agencies, ...
Letter to Minnesota DNR – Sustainable Timber Harvest Report – 10-24-2023 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Minnesota DNR regarding Sustainable Timber Harvest Implementation Report
TO: Commissioner ...
National Park Service Punts on Plastic Reduction
No Concrete Action for Years as Parks Ink New Plastic Bottle Concessions
Letter to CEQ Chair – Evaluating Climate Impacts of TAPS – 10-16-2023 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory to request BLM and DOI to evaluate climate impacts of the ...
Letter to DOI Inspector General – Wildlife Funding vs. Timber Harvest – 10-12-2023 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Department of Interior Inspector General regarding misallocation of Pittman-Robertson and ...
Groups Urge Interior to Do Its Homework on E-bikes
Better Impact Assessment Needed Before Unleashing E-bikes Across National Park System
Park Service Criminal Investigators Down by Nearly Half
Investigation Triage Pulls Agents from Property and Drug Trafficking Cases
Petition to Sec. Deb Haaland – Ban Lead Ammo in National Parks – 11-17-2022 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Rulemaking Petition to Secretary Deb Haaland to ban the use of lead ammunition and tackle in national ...
Eco-Studies Releasing Most Potent Greenhouse Gas
NSF Projects in Parks and Forests Pump Pounds of SF6 into Atmosphere
Plastic-Free National Parks Are Needed Now
Drive Launched to Remove Plastic Bottles in Two – Not Ten –Years
Letter to Sec. Deb Haaland – Plastic Free Parks in Two Not Ten Years – 08-09-2022 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Secretary Deb Haaland to move up the Department of Interior/National Park Service ...
Interior Has Bad Case of Climate “Cow Blindness”
Failure to Address Commercial Livestock Climate Impacts Invites Lawsuits
Letter to Sec. Haaland – Climate Impacts of Livestock Grazing – 07-22-2022 (PDF)
Letter to Secretary Deb Haaland and the Climate Task Force regarding Interior’s failure to address climate Impacts ...
Outside Witness Testimony – Senate Appropriations Committee – 06-10-2022 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Outside Witness Testimony in Support of Increasing Staffing Levels in Public Land Use Agencies
TO: ...
Letter to Sec. Deb Haaland – NODAP at Dept of Interior – 04-19-2022 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: PEER letter to Secretary Deb Haaland on Interior's continued use of the harsh personnel policy known ...
Comments on America the Beautiful – 30×30 – 03-07-2022 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Public comments submitted in response to a call for public input in developing an “Atlas” to track a ...
COMMENTARY | Concern Over President’s Choice to Head Federal Wildlife Agency
The Biden Administration's pick to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams, seems to be lacking in the ...
Letter to Secretary Haaland – Pittman-Robertson Funding – Wolves – 09-27-2021 (PDF)
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland regarding rogue states receiving Pittman-Robertson funding ...
PEERMail | Plastic Free Parks Are Possible!
The National Park Service must act quickly to address the crisis of plastics in our parks, Sec. Haaland has an ...
PETITION | Plastic Free Parks
Petition to Sec of Interior to outlaw sales of plastic water bottles in national parks, setting a green example ...
COMMENTARY | Haaland’s Bold Move Forward at Interior
Structural changes within the Department of Interior will further Secretary Haaland’s goals of tackling the ...
COMMENTARY | Biden Administration Choices will Determine the Future of the Federal Workforce
Guest Contributor: John Martin - Department of Interior leadership and missions have been severely compromised and ...
Letter to Department of Interior – Suspension of Delegated Authority – 03/17/2021
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Department of Interior to extend the Suspension of Delegated Authority from January 20, ...
Statement | Ten Steps to Ensure that Proper Leaders Run the Department of the Interior
A guide for the Biden administration to avoid repeating the Trump administration's unlawful actions in making ...
PEERMail | “Advice and Consent” Is the Law
Secretary Bernhardt continues his carousel of illegal appointments with new de facto NPS Director Margaret Emerson
Park Service Chief’s Appointment As Illegal As Pendley’s
Lawsuit Progresses Toward Removing “De Facto” Park Service Director
PEERMail | BLM Must Embrace Climate Solutions
Bureau of Land Management must confront climate change effects as a central element of its mission, as PEER ...
Beyond 2020: Bureau of Land Management
Conflicted leadership, loss of institutional knowledge, and marginalization of staff have left the Bureau of Land ...
Comments on William Perry Pendley’s Unfitness to Lead the BLM
Tim Whitehouse, Executive Director of PEER, comments to House Natural Resources Committee Democratic Roundtable on ...
New Temporary Park Service Appointment Is Illegal
Lawsuit Amended to Invalidate Latest “De Facto” Park Service Director
BLOG | Trump’s Temporary Insanity
Trump's latest attempt to avoid the Senate’s confirmation process is Lanny Erdos of the Office of Surface Mining ...
BLOG | Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Autocratic Power Grab
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Autocratic Power Grab
In an obscure announcement on July 22nd about ...
BLOG | Trump’s Dangerous Salute to Toadyism at Mt. Rushmore
Trump plans to stage a dangerous distraction disguised as fireworks at Mt. Rushmore, risking both wildfires and ...
Illegal Indirect Lobbying by Interior
Tweet and Video Violate Ban on Propaganda and Grassroots Lobbying
Interior IG Sits on Migratory Bird Ethics Complaint
Inspector General Wants FWS Retirees to Name Those Who Complained
Trump’s “Sagebrush Rebels” Mull Latest Bundy Trespass
Prosecution Unlikely Amid Sharp Decline in Interior Criminal Enforcement
BLOG | It’s Time to Take on Interior Department Corruption
In the midst of a pandemic, corruption at the Department of Interior continues with slashed oil and gas royalties ...
Lawsuit Seeks Ouster of Park Service and BLM Leaders
Violations of Constitution and Vacancies Act Charged for Unconfirmed Chiefs
Can National Parks Practice Social Distancing?
The still-unfolding pandemic has underlined the public health risks that national parks and refuges pose both to ...
National Parks Epitomize Trump COVID Inconsistency
As more than 100 national park units have closed, hundreds more remain open in an uneven handling of COVID-19 by ...
Interior Department International Travel Illegal
Unauthorized Official Okayed Trips Contrary to Statute
Horrid Time to Work Inside Interior Department
SES Shudders at Clueless Reorganizations and Parade of Temporary Leaders
No Direction – National Park Service and BLM to be Run by Lower Deputies for 3 Years
Trump and Bernhardt Continue to Deny Senate Role in Confirming Directors
Interior’s Obtuse Reorganization Has Blurry Focus
New Layers of Regional Bureaucracy Larded on Top of Current Structure
New BLM Acting Director Threatens Agency’s Existence
Ultra-Right Wing Lawyer William Pendley is Uniquely Unqualified to Run BLM
Coastal Barrier Islands under Surprise Attack in House
Budget Amendment Allows Stripping Islands for Beach “Renourishment”
Interior’s Musical Chairs Spin out of Control
Complaints Mount as Sagebrush Rebel Installed Over Wildlife and Parks
PEERMail: Interior Reorganizing to Better Quash Dissent
There are different bureaus with different missions that sometimes conflict. A unitary command would prevent ...
Peer Files New Information on Illegal Actions by Park Service Deputy Director
Inspector General Asked to Take Action Against Department of the Interior Violations
National Park Service Accused of Illegal Appointment
PEER Asks Inspector General to Reject David Vela as Deputy Director of Operations
Senate Confirms Monumentally Bad Pick to Lead Interior
Former Oil and Gas Lobbyist Sets New Low Bar for Regulatory Capture
BLOG: Bernhardt’s Bad Actors
Eight political appointees are leading most of the Department of the Interior bureaus without the required “advice ...
The Woman from Monsanto Inside Interior
Former Executive Had Hand in Lifting GMO and Pesticide Bans in Refuges
Bernhardt Surrounded by Illegitimate Acting Officials
Confirmation for Appointee Subverting Senate’s Advice and Consent Power
PEERMail: David Bernhardt and the Banality of Evil
As disturbing Trump appointees go, Scott Pruitt at EPA is hard to top. Well, somebody else who has that potential ...
Bernhardt Brags of Interior Ethics Turnaround
Claims Progress in Stemming “Avalanche of Ethical Misconduct” across All Bureaus
Interior Department Gaming the Shutdown
Staff Ordered to Perform Nonemergency Work to Serve Special Interests
Suit to Penetrate Political Screening of Interior Grants
Inspector General Decries “Weak or Non-Existent Controls” on Grants and Aid
Zinke Orders Broad Rollback of Wildlife Protections
Agencies Ordered to Defer to State Hunting and Fishing Practices Whenever Possible
Lawsuit to Penetrate Alaska Petroleum Controversy
Premature Disclosure of New NPRA Estimates Led to Resignation in Ethics Protest
Zinke Shows No Sign of Empowering the Field
Interior Secretary Routinely Preempts Local Decision-Making
Legal Cloud Looms over Interior Department Actions
Legitimacy of Acting Directors of Parks, BLM, and Fish & Wildlife Remains in Doubt
Temporary Interior Department Directors Illegal
All Decisions by Acting Park Service, BLM, and Fish & Wildlife Heads Legally Void
HOW STRONG IS THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT’S ETHICAL POLICY?
From: National Parks Traveler
“Not long after he took office, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reminded his ...
Zinke Clueless on Interior’s Harassment Culture
Survey Shows Widespread Reports of Reprisal and Complaint Suppression
Zinke Commandeered Boat for Channel Islands Jaunt
Diverted to Pick Up Wife, Aunt, and Guests He Classified as “Technical Experts”
Monument Miasma from Vague Zinke Memo
Contradictions, Legal Questions, and Confusion Cloud Zinke Monument Review
INTERIOR: ENERGY COMPANIES PAID BERNHARDT MORE THAN $80K LAST YEAR
From: Greenwire
“"I am writing you on behalf of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to ...
Interior Nominee Tied to Arctic Refuge Scientific Fraud
Bernhardt Aided Misleading Congress about Oil Drilling Effects in Arctic Refuge
Trump Monument Order Heads in Wrong Direction
Backlog of Interior Wilderness Reviews to See If More, Not Less, Protection Needed
Zinke Poised to Repeat National Bison Range Mistakes
Ceding Refuge Management to Tribe Is Illegal; Fraught with Headaches and Disputes
Fate of Bison Range in Interior Secretary Zinke’s Hands
Lawsuit to Block Transfer at Critical Stage as Refuge Withers on Starvation Diet
Another Audit Faults Reclamation Illegal Irrigator Subsidies
Has Interior Leadership Void Enabled Allowed Reclamation to Go Totally Rogue?
Interior Inspector General Needs New Leader
Politicized, Misguided, and Shrouded Probes Should Disqualify Kendall
New Revisions Weaken Interior Scientific Integrity Safeguards
Rules Against Politicized Science Honeycombed With Loopholes and Escape Hatches
Exxon Valdez Damages Suit Drags Into 2015 and Perhaps Beyond
Judge Frustrated That Long Overdue Restoration Plan Still Not Near Completion
Mountains of Native American Remains Mislaid and Mislabeled
Federal Office Stopped Cataloguing Discoveries, Tracking Loans or Notifying Tribes
Move to End Federal Funding of Alaska Predator Control
State Should Repay Noncompliant Grants and Be Barred from Future Grants
Vindicated Arctic Scientist Retires With Cash Settlement
$100,000 Payment and Belated Secretary’s Award Resolves Whistleblower Complaint
Reclamation Lifts Removal Threat Against Klamath Biologists
Rare Apology Coupled with Promise of More Collaborative & Transparent Posture
Cadillac Contracts Cannibalize Agency Science Budget
Review Asked for Overhead of Up to 50% in Open-Ended Reclamation Contracts
Interior Denies Spinning Klamath Science
Complaint Deemed Factual but Inaccuracies Excused as “Normal Practice”
Drowned Polar Bear Paper Vindicated – Again
Interior Rejects IG Call for Further Scientific Reviews yet Case Remains Open
IG Repeatedly Tried to Criminally Prosecute Arctic Scientist
After Charges Discredited, Drowned Polar Bear Case Reopened Without Explanation
Call to Open up Emergency Shell Arctic Review
Federal Agencies Need to Consult Outside Experts and Residents Not Just Industry
Alaska Dropped Ball on Runaway Shell Vessel
State Focused on Capacity of Towing Vessel to be Towed, Not on Its Ability to Tow
Klamath Biologists Threatened With Removal
Scientists File Complaint Citing Political Interference and Censorship
Scientific Whistleblower Complaint Resolved
Successful Mediation Under Auspices of U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Eco-Lawsuit Advances Against Cape Wind
Risk to Right Whale and other Threatened and Endangered Species Litigated
