It was announced by the United States Department of the Interior on Tuesday that Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes will be stepping down from his position at the end of June of this year. Hayes has held his position at the Department of the Interior for four years under the Obama administration.

Hayes was confirmed for his position in May of 2009 with a unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate. July 2011, the President appointed Hayes as Chair of the Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Domestic Energy Development and Permitting in Alaska, which works to organize the efforts of Federal agencies that oversee the safe and responsible development of onshore and offshore, renewable and conventional energy in Alaska.

“David has been a key architect for nearly every significant initiative undertaken at Interior over the last four years,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “From his work on expanding renewable energy production on public lands and waters, to coordinating federal family energy activities in Alaska, to developing a landscape-scale approach to conservation and climate change, David has left an indelible mark. I am grateful for his wisdom and guidance to me throughout this transition and I wish him the best as he heads out to California for this next chapter.”

The Deputy Secretary was instrumental in overseeing the implementation of the Cobell Indian Trust settlement that ended 14 years of litigation that affected 500,000 Ameican Indians and Alaskan Natives.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve in President Obama’s Administration and to work on some of the most important and challenging issues of our time,” said Hayes. “It was a difficult decision to leave the Department, but I’m looking forward to heading out West to return to Stanford and to partner with the Hewlett Foundation where I will continue to develop progressive solutions to our nation’s environmental and natural resources challenges.”

Hayes will serve as a Senior Fellow at the Hewlett Foundation and will teach at Stanford Law School in the fall.

Alaska’s Senator Begich released a statement upon hearing of Haye’s decision to step down from his position as Deputy Secretary.

“David Hayes has been a good partner to Alaska. Together, we made significant progress on streamlining OCS permitting, and Alaska saw the first offshore wells drilled in decades. I know that without his commitment to the Alaska Interagency Working Group, we would not have seen that progress.”

“While we haven’t always agreed on every issue, he always kept an open mind, did his homework and listened closely to Alaskan’s unique perspectives during his frequent trips to the state. I wish him the best in his next endeavors and look forward to working with his replacement on Alaska energy development.”