This Week at the Department of the Interior — week of June 22, 2026

This week, the Department of the Interior issued final rules and new proposals covering oil and gas development on public lands, migratory bird hunting regulations, the definition of shellfish, and West Virginia’s coal mining program. The actions include both final decisions and proposals still open for comment.

Energy Development on Federal Lands

• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed a rule to change how oil and gas leases are managed on federal land. The proposal would lower bond requirements, reducing upfront costs for companies, and allow noncompetitive leasing in some cases, removing the need for competitive bidding. It follows directives from the Trump administration and recent laws passed by Congress, and is designed to make drilling on federal land faster and less expensive.

• BLM also proposed changes to how oil and gas companies pay royalties on product lost or wasted during extraction. Operators currently face strict rules for measuring and capturing gas that would otherwise be vented or flared. The proposal would simplify how losses are calculated and reported, which could affect how much revenue the government collects from lost resources.

Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations

• The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a change to how it sets annual hunting seasons for migratory game birds. Instead of publishing four separate rulemaking documents each year, the agency will use a streamlined approach that combines steps. The change only affects how the regulations are created, not this year’s seasons or limits.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service also proposed a similar administrative change to the same process. The proposal is meant to reduce regulatory clutter and ease scheduling pressures, so state wildlife agencies and hunters get clearer, earlier notice of season dates. Neither action changes the underlying science or public input process for setting seasons.

Subsistence Harvest in Alaska

• The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized regulations allowing certain Indigenous communities in Alaska’s Upper Copper River/Ahtna Territory to hunt migratory birds and collect eggs during spring and summer. The rule adjusts seasonal dates to better align with local nesting cycles. It ensures subsistence hunters have clearly defined, legal windows to harvest without violating federal law.

Shellfish Definition Clarified

• The Fish and Wildlife Service updated its definition of “shellfish” to explicitly include cephalopods such as squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus. The change does not create new restrictions or bans on trading these animals. It removes confusion for businesses moving seafood across borders, since many cephalopods lack an external shell.

West Virginia Coal Mining Oversight

• The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement approved amendments to West Virginia’s state coal mining regulatory program. The state submitted the updates in 2011 to modernize permit processes and adjust fees. This action finalizes federal oversight of changes already in place on an interim basis for over a decade, and legally recognizes the state’s fees as reasonable and necessary to cover administrative costs.

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This weekly agency digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.