|
Yesterday, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, a major win for the future of our parks and public lands. The law ensures that $900 million in offshore oil and gas revenue will be permanently allocated to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and dedicates $9.5 billion to address the maintenance backlog in national parks. However, President Trump's attempt to greenwash his presidency with this popular bipartisan bill did not go unnoticed. "Make no mistake, this bill is great news for the future of our parks and public lands, but no thanks to President Trump. He tried for years to eviscerate the Land and Water Conservation Fund before finally flip-flopping. Now he is signing a landmark conservation bill thanks only to public demand and strong congressional leadership that resulted in veto-proof bipartisan majorities," stated Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Jesse Prentice-Dunn.
Analysis shows that Trump is the most anti-conservation president in history, rolling back over 100 environmental regulations with more in the pipeline. Notably, Trump has attempted to zero out the Land and Water Conservation Fund each year only to be blocked by Congress. In addition, the Trump administration has removed protection from 1,000 times more acres than it has protected, and granted the wishes of the oil and gas industry whenever possible. Matt Lee-Ashley, a senior fellow at Center for American Progress, said, “if President Trump deserves any credit for this bill, it is that his awful environmental record has reignited a powerful grassroots movement to save nature for the benefit of every person in America.”
|
This is the first time in 40 years that we have been out from under the threat of industrial leases... The cultural heritage area plan is the first proposal to be written with Blackfeet involvement, and with Blackfeet values included.”
