Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasized the immense value of America’s natural resources, highlighting the vast expanse of federally managed lands and offshore areas rich in untapped energy potential. He pointed to the extensive federal land holdings and offshore regions as key assets for energy production.
In an interview with Brietbart, Burgam shared “I can tell you, as the head of Interior, where just in Interior we’ve got 500 million acres of surface. Brooke Rollins has another 200 million in the U.S. Forest Service, in U.S. grasslands. So 700 million acres of surface, there’s 700 million acres of subsurface that we have the mineral rights, critical minerals, oil and gas, you know, metallurgical and thermal coal resources.
“And there’s 2.5 billion acres of offshore, many of which have not been even explored — all of which represent huge, huge assets for us. So if you take our forests, our lands, our grasslands, our lands that are near urban areas, our mineral resources, or offshore resources, I think the number is … double, triple, what our national debt is. It could be a $100 trillion.”
The Department of the Interior (DOI) oversees approximately 480 million acres of public land, managing areas for energy development, conservation, and recreation. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), part of the Department of Agriculture, manages 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. Combined, these lands contain vast amounts of oil, natural gas, and mineral resources.
Additionally, the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spans 4.38 billion acres of offshore territory, which includes substantial untapped energy reserves. Many of these offshore areas remain unexplored but hold significant potential for oil, gas, and renewable energy development.
Burgum’s remarks align with the Trump administration’s push for energy independence, emphasizing the need to harness the country’s natural resources to strengthen national security and economic growth. Recent policy moves include efforts to expand domestic drilling and mining while reducing regulatory barriers to energy production
