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Hi, I'm Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service. And you're watching This Week
at Interior.
THIS WEEK... AT INTERIOR...
CALIFORNIA'S RIM FIRE IS NOW THE LARGEST BLAZE IN THE HISTORY OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK...
THE FIRE STARTED AUGUST 17TH IN THE STANISLAUS NATIONAL FOREST JUST WEST OF YOSEMITE, AND
MOVED INTO YOSEMITE ITSELF FIVE DAYS LATER... IT'S NOW BURNED A QUARTER MILLION ACRES, INCLUDING
NEARLY 70,000 ACRES OF YOSEMITE. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DIRECTOR JONATHAN JARVIS VISITED
WITH PARK OFFICIALS OVER THE WEEKEND, OBSERVING FIRE FIGHTING OPERATIONS AND TOURING FIRE
DAMAGED AREAS OF THE PARK AND SURROUNDING FORESTS. OFFICIALS SAY THE BLAZE IS NOW 80-PERCENT
CONTAINED, BUT WON'T BE EXTINGUISHED COMPLETELY UNTIL LATER THIS MONTH.
THE BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT THIS WEEK COMPLETED THE NATION'S SECOND COMPETITIVE
LEASE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY IN FEDERAL WATERS, THIS TIME OFF THE COAST OF VIRGINIA. IT'S
ALL PART OF THE PRESIDENT'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN TO CREATE JOBS, DEVELOP CLEAN ENERGY
SOURCES, AND CUT CARBON POLLUTION. THE SALE'S PROVISIONAL WINNER? VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND
POWER COMPANY... VEPCO'S BIDS TOTALED $1.6 MILLION FOR NEARLY 113,000 ACRES. THAT'S AN
AREA LARGE ENOUGH TO GENERATE an estimated TWO THOUSAND MEGAWATTS... WHICH IS ENOUGH
ENERGY TO POWER MORE THAN 700,000 HOMES.
SECRETRAY JEWELL WRAPPED UP HER TOUR OF ALASKA THIS WEEK WITH A BRIEFING FROM THE U-S GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY ON THE ALASKA SCIENCE CENTER. A KEY PART OF THE PRESIDENT'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN,
THE CENTER HELPS PROVIDE INFORMATION AND DATA TO LAND MANAGERS AND DECISION-MAKERS ABOUT
THE IMPACTS OF A CHANGING ARCTIC CLIMATE.
USGS ALSO ANNOUNCED 400 NEW TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS OF ALASKA, THE FIRST OF AN EXPECTED 11,000
MAPS THAT WILL REPLACE OUTDATED DATA, SOME MORE THAN 50 YEARS OLD. THE NEW MAPS WILL
HAVE MANY BENEFITS FOR ACTIVITIES LIKE AVIATION, RECREATION, AND PROVIDING A BASELINE FROM
WHICH TO ASSESS CLIMATE CHANGE.
THE SECRETARY'S ALASKA TOUR ALSO INCLUDED STOPS IN THE COMMUNITIES OF KING COVE, COLD
BAY, AND THE IZEMBEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE... THE SECRETARY ALSO VISTED THE STATE'S NORTH
SLOPE... SHE TOURED THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE TO TALK ABOUT RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
AND TO SEE FIRST HAND COASTAL EROSION, AND SPENT TIME IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE... THAT'S WHERE THE SECRETARY HERSELF SHOT THIS VIDEO OF TWO POLAR BEARS TAKING
A STROLL ALONG THE WINDY SHORES OF BARTER ISLAND.
NEXT UP... FROM THE NATION'S 49TH STATE, TO THE 50TH... IN HONOLULU THIS WEEK THE SECRETARY
DELIVERED THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE 12TH ANNUAL NATIVE HAWAIIAN CONVENTION. IN HER
REMARKS THE SECRETARY UNDERSCORED THE IMPORTANCE OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN ISSUES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT
OF THE INTERIOR, AND THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY.
THEN IT WAS OFF ACROSS THE PACIFIC TO THE MARSHALL ISLANDS, WHERE SECRETARY JEWELL HEADED
UP A U.S. DELEGATION TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM... TO HIGHLIGHT AND BUILD UPON OUR HISTORIC
RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLES AND NATIONS OF THE PACIFIC. AMONG THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA...
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, NATURAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SECURITY.
AND CONGRATULATIONS THIS WEEK TO UNITED STATES NAVY VETERAN LONNIE BEDWELL... BEDWELL IS
NOW THE FIRST *COMPLETELY BLIND* SOLO KAYAKER, TO TRAVEL THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE GRAND CANYON.
BEDWELL WAS GUIDED BY *TEAM RIVER RUNNER* ON HIS 16-DAY, 226 MILE JOURNEY, WHICH INCLUDED
TAKING ON CLASS V RAPIDS. TEAM RIVER RUNNER IS A CHAPTER OF DISABLED SPORTS USA, A GROUP
THAT WORKS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF DISABLED VETERANS, YOUNGSTERS AND ADULTS, BY PROVIDING
SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
THAT'S THIS WEEK, AT INTERIOR.