David L. Bernhardt

David L. Bernhardt (b. 1969) grew up near rural Rifle, Colorado. He is the seventh Interior secretary to hail from that state and the only person to also have been nominated and confirmed as deputy secretary (2017-2019) and as solicitor (2006-2009). Combined with his time in other Office of the Secretary positions during the George W. Bush administration, Bernhardt cumulatively served at Interior for almost 12 years.

As the 53rd secretary, Bernhardt’s conservation accomplishments included expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities to more than 3.7 million acres within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the enactment and implementation of both the 2019 John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act and the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). The latter provided $9.5 billion to address longstanding deferred maintenance issues and established perpetual, mandatory full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

In addition, Bernhardt focused on striking a regulatory balance within the Department. He streamlined and expedited permitting processes, advanced energy independence, modernized regulations, increased offshore Outer Continental Shelf inspections, and set a new record for the number of listed threatened and endangered species recovered in an administration’s first term. Notably, he also significantly enhanced the Departmental Ethics Office and led the Department through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

This painting is by Florida-based artist Jeffrey W. Bass, renowned for his fine art portraits and historical works held in museums and private collections. The background depicts Mount Garfield, an iconic landmark on Bureau of Land Management lands in Colorado’s Grand Valley at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. The location signifies Bernhardt’s professional career coming full circle to the public lands and waters of his western Colorado origins. In homage to the law, his service as solicitor, and the tenet that “public service is a public trust,” Bernhardt holds the GAOA statute and his white hat. The tag on his vest reflects Bernhardt’s security codename as secretary and his great appreciation for the U.S. Park Police.