Before the 1960s almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) person was illegal. New York City laws against homosexual activities were particularly harsh. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGBT civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.
Vine Creek Ranch at Death Valley National Park. Steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Towering peaks are frosted with winter snow. Rare rainstorms bring vast fields of wildflowers. Lush oases harbor tiny fish and refuge for wildlife and humans. Despite its morbid name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley.
Located 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii, the National Park of American Samoa is the most remote unit of the National Park System and the U.S. National Park south of the Equator. The Park spreads across three islands, 9,500 acres of tropical rainforest, and 4,000 acres of ocean, including coral reefs. While remote, the islands of American Samoa, true to the meaning of the word Samoa (Islands of Sacred Earth), are welcoming and offer beautiful landscapes and centuries of culture and history.
Seasoned backpacker and adventurer Yang Lu earned the grand prize in the 2015 Share the Experience photo contest with this image of a sunburst captured at sunrise in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah. Yang has made the outdoors part of his daily life and finds deep connection to the land through his lens.
“My photography is not just for recreation, it is to inspire people to explore these areas." -- Yang Lu
Photo by Yang Lu (www.sharetheexperience.org).
The Department is also committed to conserving water, a precious resource, especially in the Western States where many of the bureaus' facilities are located. The goal set by Executive Order 13693 is to reduce potable water consumption intensity, measured in gallons per gross square foot of building space, by 2 percent annually at Federal facilities relative to the FY 2007 baseline in accordance with the following table:
Bureaus are encouraged to implement the Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Water Efficiency Best Management Practices, as appropriate, to meet the water consumption intensity goal. Also, where applicable, bureaus and offices are encouraged to specify and purchase WaterSense labeled products and other water efficient products and choose irrigation contractors who are certified through a WaterSense labeled program.