Science under Siege at the Department of the Interior

The report documents a pattern of anti-science policies at the US Department of the Interior (DOI) under Secretary Ryan Zinke, arguing that the administration prioritized fossil fuel and mining interests over public health and environmental protection. Key findings include the blocking of critical health and safety research, the removal of climate change from strategic planning, and the creation of a hostile work environment for federal scientists. The document highlights specific cases of land protection reductions, such as at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, and the undercutting of the Endangered Species Act. It concludes with recommendations for increased congressional oversight and the reintegration of climate science into DOI policy.

• Secretary Ryan Zinke oversaw a pattern of suppressing science and sidelining researchers to benefit the fossil fuel industry, specifically oil, gas, and mining interests.
• The DOI blocked critical public health and safety research, including a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) study on the health effects of surface coal mining in Central Appalachia and an investigation into offshore oil and gas development inspections.
• Political interference in research funding was established by requiring a single political appointee without a science degree, Steve Howke, to review all science grants exceeding $50,000.
• The DOI systematically removed climate change from its official priorities, including the retraction of Director’s Order 100 and the deletion of climate change from the agency's five-year strategic vision and its primary climate webpage.
• The administration significantly reduced the size of protected lands to facilitate extractive industries, most notably cutting Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by 47 percent.
• The DOI created a hostile work environment for scientists through restrictive communication policies, the reassignment of senior career staff to unqualified positions, and the intimidation of staff who spoke about climate change.
• The administration undermined the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by proposing that economic impacts be factored into scientific assessments of species viability and by rushing assessments to avoid disrupting agribusiness.
• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) eliminated a proposed rule that would have required oil and gas companies to reduce methane emissions, potentially allowing 1.78 million tons of new emissions over a decade.

APA

Carter, J., Markham, A., Clement, J., Heid, M., & Worth, P. (2018). Science under Siege at the Department of the Interior. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/12/science-under-siege-at-department-of-interior-full-report.pdf

Chicago

Carter, Jacob, Adam Markham, Joel Clement, Matt Heid, and Pamela Worth. Science under Siege at the Department of the Interior. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2018. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/12/science-under-siege-at-department-of-interior-full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carter |first1=Jacob |last2=Markham |first2=Adam |last3=Clement |first3=Joel |last4=Heid |first4=Matt |last5=Worth |first5=Pamela |title=Science under Siege at the Department of the Interior |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=December 2018 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/12/science-under-siege-at-department-of-interior-full-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carter2018science, author = {Carter, Jacob and Markham, Adam and Clement, Joel and Heid, Matt and Worth, Pamela}, title = {{Science under Siege at the Department of the Interior}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/12/science-under-siege-at-department-of-interior-full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }