Right now, the person sitting at the big desk in the Stewart Lee Udall Building is Doug Burgum. He is the 55th United States Secretary of the Interior.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he was the Governor of North Dakota for about eight years. Or maybe you remember him from the 2024 presidential primaries. Either way, he’s the one running the show for our national parks, public lands, and energy leases as of January 2026.
Burgum isn't your typical career politician. He’s a software billionaire. He literally "bet the farm"—his family’s land—to fund a startup called Great Plains Software back in the 80s. He eventually sold it to Microsoft for over a billion dollars. That tech-heavy background is why some people call him an "entrepreneurial governor," and it's definitely shaping how he’s handling the Interior Department today.
Who is Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum?
So, how did a tech guy from a town of 400 people end up managing 500 million acres of U.S. land? It happened fast.
After his stint as North Dakota’s governor, Donald Trump nominated him for the role in late 2024. The Senate confirmed him on January 30, 2025, with a pretty solid 79-18 vote. Interestingly, a bunch of Democrats actually voted for him, which doesn't happen much in D.C. lately. They seemed to like his pragmatism, even if they weren't crazy about his "drill, baby, drill" energy stance.
He’s not just the Interior Secretary, though. Burgum wears a second hat as the "Energy Czar." He chairs a new National Energy Council and actually has a seat on the National Security Council. This is a first. Usually, the Interior Secretary stays in their lane with parks and wildlife, but Burgum is central to the administration's plan to make the U.S. "energy dominant."
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Why His Background Matters
Burgum grew up in Arthur, North Dakota. He worked as a chimney sweep to pay for college.
He’s got an MBA from Stanford.
He understands data.
When he talks about the Department of the Interior (DOI), he doesn't just talk about trees and trails. He talks about "innovation over regulation." He’s obsessed with cutting red tape. You can see this in how he's currently pushing to streamline permits for oil and gas drilling, but also how he's trying to modernize the way the National Park Service handles crowds.
What is the Interior Secretary Doing Right Now?
If you’ve been following the news this week, you’ve probably seen his name pop up regarding hunting and fishing. Just a few days ago, on January 7, 2026, Burgum signed a major secretarial order.
Basically, he’s told the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service to review all their rules. He wants to make sure they aren't "exceeding their mandates" by restricting hunting and fishing. For folks in the outdoors community, this is a huge deal. Groups like the Boone and Crockett Club are cheering it on, saying it removes "unnecessary regulatory barriers."
But it’s not just about recreation.
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- Energy Dominance: He’s been fast-tracking lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Wildfire Response: He recently launched the "U.S. Wildland Fire Service" to unify how different agencies fight fires.
- Border Security: He’s been using DOI resources to help secure public lands near the southern border, particularly in Arizona.
It's a lot for one guy. Honestly, the DOI is a massive beast—it has over 60,000 employees and manages everything from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Big Debate: Conservation vs. Production
You can’t talk about the Secretary of the Interior without talking about the friction. It’s built into the job.
Environmental groups are, predictably, not fans of the current direction. They argue that Burgum's focus on fossil fuels and deregulation is a step backward for climate goals. They point to his history in North Dakota, where he was a huge advocate for the lignite coal industry.
On the flip side, supporters say he’s finally treating the DOI like a business. They argue that by "unlocking" federal lands for energy, he’s lowering costs for regular people and making the country more secure. Burgum himself says we can have "carbon-neutral" energy innovation without banning fossil fuels. He's a big believer in carbon capture technology—the idea that you can catch the bad stuff before it hits the atmosphere.
Whether that actually works at scale is still a huge point of contention among scientists and policy wonks.
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A Shift in Leadership Styles
Before Burgum, we had Deb Haaland. She was the first Native American Cabinet secretary and focused heavily on conservation and renewable energy like wind and solar.
Burgum’s approach is a 180-degree turn.
He’s focused on traditional energy, removing "burdensome" environmental reviews, and what he calls "common-sense" management. It’s a very different vibe in the halls of the Interior Department these days. He moves fast. He likes tech solutions. He’s not afraid to shake up decades-old agency cultures.
What This Means for You
If you’re a hiker, a hunter, or just someone who pays an electric bill, Burgum’s decisions hit your life eventually.
- Access to Lands: If you hunt or fish, you’re likely going to see more areas opened up in the coming months.
- Energy Prices: The push for "Energy Dominance" is aimed at keeping gas and heating prices down by increasing the supply from federal lands.
- National Parks: Keep an eye on park fees and access. While he’s pushing for more recreation, there’s also a push for more private-sector involvement in how parks are run.
The Department of the Interior is often called the "Department of Everything Else," but under Doug Burgum, it’s clearly the "Department of Energy and Access."
To keep tabs on what's changing near you, you should check the official DOI.gov press room regularly. They’ve been dropping new secretarial orders almost weekly lately. You can also look up the "Make America Beautiful Again Commission" which Burgum is heavily involved in—it's the roadmap they're using for land management through the rest of 2026.
The best way to have a say is to participate in the public comment periods for new regulations. Most people skip these, but they are the only legal way to get your voice into the official record before a policy becomes set in stone.