Interior Department Offers Staff Early Retirement

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Thursday that it will offer employees new opportunities to retire early, as part of the agency’s strategy to improve efficiency.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the staff-reduction measures are part of a broader strategy to also boost American energy independence and better serve taxpayers.

The department, which manages more than 480 million acres of public lands, 750 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 2.5 billion offshore acres, gave no details on how many positions would be affected or which bureaus would be most heavily targeted.

“Effective stewardship requires disciplined management of the resources entrusted to us,” Burgum said in a statement. “By modernizing our operations we’re strengthening our ability to carry out Interior’s mission and deliver world-class service for the American people.”

The department did not respond to requests for further comment by publication time.

The staff reductions are part of a broader modernization effort across the Interior’s 13 bureaus and offices. The plan includes shifting more National Park Service positions toward visitor-facing roles, strengthening support for tribal nations and tribal justice programs, and eliminating redundant layers in the permitting process. It also sharpens focus on core water and power missions while accelerating high-quality science and responsible land and wildlife management.

The initiative aims to reduce administrative burdens, speed decision-making, and improve coordination so that remaining employees have the tools they need to deliver faster, more reliable service to the public, partners, and stakeholders. The department described the changes as essential to optimizing operations and streamlining outdated bureaucracy while still fulfilling its stewardship responsibilities nationwide.

The department sets policy for 11 agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Strategic Science Group.

No timeline was provided for when the deferred resignation and early retirement windows would open or close. The department said it would continue working hand in hand with states, tribal nations, territories, local communities, partners, concessioners, and industry.

The move follows President Donald Trump’s broader effort to shrink the size of the federal government and cut waste.

Trump’s spending request was an $11.9 billion budget for the Interior Department in fiscal year 2026, more than $5 billion less than its fiscal year 2025 budget. The plan eliminates 1,000 National Park Service, 1,000 U.S. Geological Survey, 800 Bureau of Land Management, 420 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and 150 Bureau of Reclamation jobs, among trims in other agencies. The department has already dismissed 1,700 probationary workers.