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America’s National Parks Podcast

Elon Musk’s DOGE Now Directly Controls the National Park Service

America’s National Parks Podcast

RV Miles Network

Science, Nature, Places & Travel, Society & Culture:places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.9870 Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a stunning shift of federal power, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now holds sweeping authority over the U.S. Department of the Interior — including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and more. DOGE appointee Tyler Hassen, a private oil exec, has been handed the keys to over 500 million acres of federal land with zero oversight.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, now has direct control of the National Park Service and other federal land agencies under the Department of the Interior.

0:11.3

I'm Jason Epperson, and this is Parkography.

0:15.0

Late last week, Secretary of the Interior, Doug Bergam wrote Secretary Order S.O.3429, which essentially gives the keys to the entire

0:23.7

interior department to a man named Tyler Hazen, the CEO of oilfield services company Basin Energy.

0:31.3

Hasen now has authority over the 433 National Park Service sites and over 500 million acres of land under the Bureau of Land

0:39.1

Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and other land agencies. Hasn has been given a broad agenda

0:44.9

and authority to cut costs and consolidate work within the department. He's tasked with

0:49.3

creating, quote, significant efficiencies and eliminating redundant efforts across the department's different

0:55.4

factions. He has the direct authority to fire staff and transfer funds with no requirement

1:00.1

that he report back to Secretary Bergam. The order doesn't even give Bergam veto power of any

1:05.7

of Hassan's decisions, including the potential firing of public lands managers, Rangers and staff,

1:10.7

which is expected soon. Bergam, the former governor of public lands managers, rangers, and staff, which is expected soon.

1:12.5

Bergam, the former governor of North Dakota, was appointed by President Trump, but had to go

1:16.7

through the Senate confirmation process in order to be granted the powers of running the department.

1:21.2

Other cabinet members have not gone so far as to give a member of the Doge team such

1:26.2

direct control of a department.

1:28.6

The Department of the Interior is tasked with maintaining national parks and recreation lands,

1:32.7

protecting endangered species, and overseeing drilling and mining leases on public lands and waters.

1:37.3

In a Fox News interview alongside Elon Musk and other Doge members in March,

1:41.8

Hassan said his team was reviewing every single contract,

1:45.0

every single grant at Interior. According to the Washington Post, Hassan is reviewing every grant

1:50.1

over $50,000 and has requested his team to have access to Interior Department's payroll system,

...

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