On June 21, the Trump Administration rolled out its plans to reorganize government agencies into more streamlined bureaus. The plans were developed as a result of Executive Order 13781 issued in March 2017 that called for all departments to evaluate how to reorganize agency functions to reduce redundancy and waste. As part of the recently released plan, NOAA Fisheries would be moved into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order to merge the agencies that have similar functions over fisheries and marine mammal management. In addition, hazardous materials programs within the Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture would be moved into the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Civil Works division of the Army Corps of Engineers would be moved within the Departments of Transportation and the Interior. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, welcomed the recommended reorganization. At the same time, he is leading internal efforts within his department to reorganize DOI bureaus into a dozen unified regions across the country.

“President Trump is a businessman who knows that an effective operation needs to be organized for success, which is exactly why he is leading this commonsense reorganization of the executive branch,” Zinke noted in a statement. “By merging agencies that handle similar, if not the same, functions we would be able to greatly improve services to the American people and better protect the land and wildlife under our care. At Interior, we are leading the government reform and modernization by consolidating dozens of regional bureau boundaries into twelve common unified boundaries – down from 61 for the nine bureaus – and pushing more assets and decision-making out into the field. This will allow government agencies to work more collaboratively on everything from wildlife and habitat management to expanding recreation access on public lands to environmental reviews and permitting infrastructure projects.”

The reorganization efforts may be a long shot because they will require congressional approval of funding to implement the changes, and will require substantial changes to staffing and agency offices. However, the administration will continue to pursue their reorganization efforts stating that it will make the government more responsive and accountable to the American public.