Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has moved to lift protections from more than 86 million acres of public lands in his second term, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress that shows how Trump’s actions are threatening beloved landscapes and wildlife across the country.
The land losing these safeguards is equivalent to more than 70 Grand Canyons or 38 Yellowstone National Parks—a massive collection of public lands and waters across the country at risk of being permanently altered or destroyed, the analysis finds.
The impact of these rollbacks includes opening pristine forest wilderness to development, exposing Alaska’s habitat-rich landscapes to oil drilling, and putting beloved landscapes such as Minnesota’s Boundary Waters at risk of contamination and destruction.
“As millions of Americans celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary this summer by visiting national parks, forests, and monuments, the country’s rich conservation legacy is being erased,” said Sam Zeno, senior policy analyst for Conservation Policy at CAP and co-author of the report. “Despite overwhelming public support for conserving the nation’s shared resources, President Trump is putting these lands and waters at risk.”
Recently, the Trump administration has been making absurd attempts to compare President Trump’s conservation record to that of President Theodore Roosevelt. In reality, President Trump has proved himself to be the most anti-nature president in the country’s history.
Including his first term in office, Trump has moved to lift protections from more than 100 million acres of land. In contrast, Roosevelt conserved nearly 230 million acres of public lands while in office, including national forests, national monuments, national parks, and bird and game reserves.
Read the analysis: “Unprotecting American Lands: How Trump Is Dismantling America’s Bipartisan Conservation Legacy” by Sophie Conroy and Sam Zeno
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].