DOGE Just Took Over National Parks

Elon Musk and his evil minions just achieved a coup at the Department of the Interior, taking over control of National Parks, and other public lands

“Elon Musk is now effectively in charge of America’s public lands,” says Jennifer Rokala, executive director at the Center for Western Priorities. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum just issued an order ceding oversight of the Department of the Interior to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (which is not a government department at all), and handing to it total authority over DOI’s workforce and budget. DOI manages the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and more. Its operations cover 20 percent of the nation’s total land area.

“The purpose of this Order is to authorize and direct the actions necessary to effectuate the consolidation, unification and optimization of administrative functions within the Department of the Interior,” reads Burgum’s order. “The Assistant Secretary – Policy, Management and Budget (AS-PMB) is hereby assigned to lead and coordinate the consolidation, unification and optimization efforts within the Department and its Bureaus and Offices.”

The person currently serving as AS-PMB (which in normal times would require Senate confirmation) is DOGE operative Tyler Hassen, the CEO of a Houston-based energy company.

“The order does not require Hassen to report back to Burgum regarding the reorganization, nor does it reserve any authority to Burgum if Hassen were to fire thousands of public lands managers, park rangers, or wildfire specialists across the country,” explains CWP.

Burgum’s order details Hassen’s new responsibilities:

“The AS-PMB is directed to take all necessary actions, including appropriate notifications, to effectuate the appropriate consolidation, unification and optimization of administrative functions within the Department and its Bureaus and Offices, including:”

“1. Determining the appropriate prioritization, phasing, and steps required to achieve the outlined above;

2. Making appropriate funding decisions for the resulting consolidated administrative functions, including utilization of the Working Capital Fund to the maximum extent practicable;

3. Issuing relevant policy, directives, and guidance, as well as overseeing necessary revisions to the Departmental Manual; and

4. Ensuring the appropriate transfer of funds, programs, records, and property, as well as taking required personnel actions, to carry out the consolidation.”

“This Order delegates to the AS-PMB all authority necessary to carry out the plan directed herein. It also delegates any authority necessary to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of administrative functions during any period of transition required to complete the process.”

This is wild. Not only is Burgum handing total authority to manage daily operations at DOI and all of its 11 bureaus and offices over to a hitherto unknown political operative, but that political operative is assuming all of that power while holding his position illegally, in violation of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

That is an insane amount of power. In addition to the National Park Service, DOI manages the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. As such, Hassen is now responsible for 70,000 employees, the administration of numerous international treaties, the welfare of 574 Native American Tribes, 433 national park sites, over 500 million acres of public lands, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 3.2 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf.

“If Doug Burgum doesn’t want this job, he should quit now,” continues a transparently aghast Rokala. “This order shows what it looks like when leaders abdicate their jobs and let unqualified outsiders fire thousands of civil servants who are working on behalf of all Americans and their public lands.”

DOGE’s coup comes as federal departments begin mass reductions in force. NPS, which has already lost up to 17.5 percent of its workforce to firings of probationary staff, voluntary buyouts, and early retirements, is reportedly targeting a total reduction in payroll of 30 percent. Other agencies both within DOI and elsewhere have similar targets.

The other big thing going on is a much-feared mass sell-off of public lands. Burgum has already announced a plan to sell or give away BLM land for the transparently false purpose of “affordable housing.” It’s unclear if he will continue to administer that plan, or if Hassen will take charge of that too.

Then there’s the question of DOI’s ability to maintain ongoing operations under this new regime. DOI staff don’t just keep park visitors from feeding bears. As the size of its area of responsibility and diverse nature of the agencies it manages suggests, DOI handles everything from business affairs on tribal reservations to permitting offshore oil and gas operations. DOI is responsible for such important activities as managing infrastructure for our nation’s water supply; the Bureau of Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams, including the Hoover Dam, and provides drinking water for 31 million people and irrigation for 60 percent of this country’s vegetable crops. Its dams power 3.5 million homes.

And water is already something Hassen is screwing up, according to reporting by Public Domain’s Jimmy Tobias.

“As part of mass firings across the Interior Department in recent days, some 40 employees were eliminated in BOR’s California-Great Basin region, which manages the Jones Pumping Plant and other essential Central Valley Project infrastructure,” Tobias writes. “Among those fired were maintenance mechanics, civil engineers and mechanical engineers, with more firings likely on the way that could undermine efficient infrastructure operations.”

As is occurring elsewhere within the administration, it also seems as if Hassen is conducting business over insecure messaging services, according to Tobias’ reporting.

“Since Elon Musk is now effectively in charge of America’s public lands, it’s up to Congress and the American people to stand up and demand oversight,” states Rokala. “DOGE’s unelected bureaucrats in Washington have no idea how to staff a park, a wildlife refuge, or a campground. They have no idea how to manage a forest or prepare for fires in the wildland-urban interface. But Doug Burgum just gave DOGE free rein over all of that.”

We’re in just batshit insane territory here folks. Stay tuned here for more developments and analysis.

Wes Siler is your guide to leading a more exciting life outdoors. Upgrading to a paid subscription supports independent journalism and gives you personal access to his expertise and network, which he’ll use to help you plan trips, purchase gear, and solve problems. You can read more about what he’s doing on Substack through this link.