Take Action

A baby sea turtle taking action - to get to its home in the sea! Padre Island National Seashore. (NPS)

If you care about the Department of the Interior and the work its people do - for parks and wildlife, for public lands and energy, in serving Tribes, for science - then the most important thing you can do is take action today.

Don't wait until tomorrow, do something today. Here are three options (and a BONUS!):

Contact your lawmakers

Federal, State, Local

Contact Congress and tell them they need to care about Interior today and tomorrow. They need to hear from you!

But don't stop there: contact your local and state elected officials too and tell them to send word up to Congress that they care about Interior. This is a key way to have your voice heard. Finding your elected officials is easy:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Not sure what to say? Make a few bullet points about why Interior matters to you: the parks and wildlife, public lands, our obligations to Tribes, energy production...any and all of it.

Still looking for some notes? Check out organizations like 5calls, where they've got example scripts for each issue they cover. Might give you some ideas! (We'll work on putting together some resources to make it easier to contact your lawmakers, like scripts and hot topics.)

(Photo of U.S. Capitol dome CC-BY Diliff, via Wikimedia Commons)

Get involved with Next Interior!

We need your enthusiasm, experience, and skill to be all we can be

Easiest

Donate! No, Next Interior isn't yet a 501(c)(3) so your donation wouldn't be tax-deductible. But it would help us keep developing Next Interior into the nonprofit that is needed. See also the option of joining the Exploratory Committee, below. (Coming soon)

Medium Effort

Next Interior Affiliates: Does your work - whether it's advocacy, research, communications, organizing, or something else - overlap with the mission and goals of Next Interior? Would you want to link the two together? The Affiliates Program could be an option, with you and Next Interior (and ultimately the Department) benefiting from the shared affiliation. Here's a form to kick off the process. (Coming soon)

Next Interior Volunteers: Looking to put some of your free time to work on Next Interior's mission but maybe not sure how to exactly? Consider the Volunteers Program, where we'll get you lined up to help us advance the mission of Next Interior and provide guidance along the way. Apply here. (Coming soon)

Most Involved

Next Interior Fellows: Are you mid-career and looking to set up a project that advances both your interests and Next Interior's mission? With the Fellows Program, we will work together to set you up on a program that focuses on one or a few specific goals to be accomplished in your time, benefiting you and Next Interior. Apply here. (Coming soon)

Funders: Please consider how you could help us make the Fellows Program a paid program, which is an essential step for improving equity and justice in the future workforce of Interior. Get in touch.

Next Interior Internship: Are you still in school or changing careers, so that you would like to do some work that advances your educational goals? Maybe a little earlier career than what the Fellows program is designed for? The Internship Program is designed as a time-limited option that mixes learning with direct application in work. Apply here. (Coming soon)

Funders: Most internships are intended to further an educational outcome rather than being a form of employment. However, just like with Fellows, there is a significant equity issue, where qualified, driven people may not be able to take an internship because they need to work. Please consider how you could help us make the Internship Program a paid program. Get in touch.

Next Interior Board / Exploratory Committee: And last but not least, do you want to help with not just the future of the US Department of the Interior, but of Next Interior by supporting governance? First, we need an Exploratory Committee to ensure that the ins-and-outs of establishing a nonprofit is the best path forward. If so, then we'll need a Board of Directors. If you have experience, ideas, and passion that can be helpful, then please apply! (Coming soon)

We're still getting going, so more opportunities will come up with time. Stay tuned!

Connect with others

Just as Interior is the home of many offices, Next Interior just one piece of the puzzle

Just like Interior has lots of pieces, there many other orgs out there who can help amplify your voice for Interior's mission. Connect with them* to take action!

Consider how you can contribute directly or indirectly to some of Interior's work through Congressionally chartered organizations like:

Looking for advocacy organizations? Consider a few options like those found in these resources:

Have tips for others we should link with? Send 'em our way!

* These links are not endorsements, just a start to connect people and organizations to support Interior, its bureaus and offices, and its varied mission.

BONUS: Support your local Interior staff

Chances are, you know someone from Interior, right in your neighborhood or town. Maybe they're a ranger with the National Park Service. Maybe a tribal liaison with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Maybe an engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation. Or an economist with the Bureau of Land Management. Maybe they work in finance or IT or facilities, the type of work that people often overlook but that make it possible for the Department to serve you and the Nation.

You know what they probably don't hear often enough? That we - their neighbors, their colleagues, the Nation - appreciate what they do every day. Too often, like many other civil servants

So go say hello and "Thank you!" Go on a birding walk at a local national wildlife refuge and give appreciation for the biologist who is adding to your love of the world. Stop by an Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement location if you live in mining country and thank them for helping to make damaged lands useful again. Have a Bureau of Indian Education school around? Tell a BIE teacher you appreciate their dedication to providing culturally relevant, high-quality education. The opportunities are endless!

(Photo of young birders by USFWS at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, public domain.)