U.S. Department of the Interior protects America’s natural resources and heritage, honors its cultures and tribal communities, and supplies energy to power the country’s future. The department manages 500 million acres of lands and 1.7 billion acres on the outer continental shelf. It oversees the responsible development of 23 percent of the U.S. energy supplies. Being the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 western states, it maintains relationships with 566 federally recognized tribes and provides services to more than 1.7 million American Indian and Alaska Native people. U.S. Department of the Interior was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.