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On Friday, Trump's Interior Department released detailed descriptions of proposed projects that will be prioritized for funding through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).
The detailed projects come after the Trump administration failed to meet the original deadline to submit a project list to Congress, delaying implementation of the landmark conservation bill. Even after submitting lists to Congress, the Interior Department has been continually vague about allocations for the new funding. In one case, a deferred maintenance backlog line item was simply listed as "Alaska," with no explanation.
It has become clear that the Trump administration's support of the GAOA was nothing more than pre-election greenwashing. Prior to this year's election, the administration tried repeatedly to gut the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a key program that was fully funded as part of the GAOA. Only days after the election, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed an order kneecapping the implementation of LWCF and undermining the new law. The new order makes it substantially harder for agencies to make land acquisitions, among other changes.
After the release of new details, critics point out that the funding priority lists have not grown substantially after the enactment of the GAOA—which provides hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed additional funding. The new list also favors state grant programs over federal acquisitions. However, the list does include more than $125 million allocated to the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order to acquire private lands from willing sellers. Planned acquisitions range from Alaska and California to Kentucky and Florida.
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As ranchers, we can personally speak to the benefits protecting this landscape will have for the agricultural community, including preserving high quality rangeland and protecting access to clean water... It is my hope that the senators of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will listen to voices of ranchers on the Thompson Divide and pass the CORE Act to preserve the agricultural character of this iconic geography and region."
