Environmental groups are preparing to fight the new Trump administration

Environmental groups are preparing to push back against the incoming Trump administration, which they expect to make major policy changes faster than was seen when Donald Trump took office in 2017.

Based on Trump’s past actions as president and statements made during the recent campaign, experts, lawyers and advocates have made several predictions for his purpose in office. They expect him to focus on expanding oil and gas drilling, reducing the amount of federally protected land and repealing or revoking two of the accomplishments of President Joe Biden’s legislation: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Act of Price Reduction.

Environmentalists see Trump’s Cabinet pick has announced the first steps on the project – people who agree with the goal of “wall, dig, drill” on the first day, as Trump said to the host of Fox News Sean Hannity in December. Now, Trump has named North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has called for increased domestic oil production, as his choice for interior secretary, and oil industry CEO Chris Wright is and his secretary of desiring power.

The first Trump administration has taken at least 74 actions seen as weakening environmental policy, according to a tracker from the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. The number could be much higher in the future, given Trump’s promises to radically change the regulatory environment.

Brett Hartl, director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, Brett Hartl, said: “I think the thing we’re preparing for more and more is violence and disrespect for the law. He added that his team will watch for changes or processes that are “simple, illegal.”

The agency and other environmental organizations, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, anticipate more legal battles to come and are already asking for donations to support those efforts. Advertisements appearing on every site are asking for support to prevent the expected changes in environmental protection.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

NRDC and the Center for Biological Diversity both have a track record of challenging Trump’s plan in court. While Trump was in office, the agency filed 266 lawsuits against government actions it saw as threats to the environment and won 87% of them, by its count. Some of the team’s biggest victories have included stopping a coastal dredging project in the Alaskan Arctic and reversing the removal of grizzly bears from the endangered species list. Meanwhile, NRDC says it has filed 163 lawsuits in that time and has won about 90% of those settled.

Although Trump rejected the 2025 plan during his campaign, several environmental groups have said they still expect the next administration to follow the strategic roadmap, compiled by Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank. They prepare accordingly.

“We’re already seeing the people involved in Project 2025 being elected to the administration,” said Andrew Wetzler, who leads the NRDC’s environmental program. “And when you look at that, it’s very alarming from a broader climate perspective.”

The plan calls for achieving “America’s Energy Dominance” in part, to stop what it calls “the war on oil and natural gas.” It advocates ending climate research and favors repeal policies passed under Biden that have given billions of dollars to renewable energy.

Jillian Blanchard, who leads the climate change and environmental justice program at Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the group is working to ensure that dollars earmarked for projects clean energy under the Affordable Care Act cannot be easily reversed. with the new system.

“We have worked with many government providers that have received funding or have been announced to receive funding,” Blanchard said, explaining his team’s efforts to help those clients speed up the payment process and process any problems that arise.

“We intend to continue this work to ensure that the money goes to the intended beneficiaries, whether it’s for climate justice, dealing with the climate crisis, environmental justice, transportation, etc.,” he added.

Conservation groups also expect a renewed battle over federally protected land, particularly in the Southwest. After President Barack Obama established Bears Ears National Monument in Utah in 2016, Trump reduced its size by more than 1 million acres after taking office the following year. A group of environmental groups filed a lawsuit, and the statue was fully restored by Biden in 2021.

Many expect Bears Ears to be revisited, along with Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, also in Utah.

“We look forward to day one of these national monuments being torn down,” said Ethan Aumack, executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust.

He said the group has made a contingency plan to be able to respond quickly to any such attempt.

I’ll just say: We’re not working on a blank slate. We saw what happened under President Trump in his first term,” Aumack said. “We believe it is illegal for any president to tear down national monuments, and we intend to take the matter to court if he tries the same thing again.”

While he anticipates tough battles ahead, Wetzler also pointed to a few types of environmental policies that could be difficult for the new Trump administration to dismantle.

Pointing to the Biden administration’s infrastructure and clean energy investments, he said many Republican nominees may not want to lose money to their districts, including leaders in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.

“Most of the money going toward clean energy — new battery technology, electric car manufacturing plants, solar manufacturers — is still in Republican states around the country and red states,” Wetzler said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Congress, by the Republican Party, by its constituents, not to destroy that investment.”

Second, he said, clean water has emerged as an area of ​​mutual agreement.

Wetzler added: “Some of the most passionate conservationists are Republicans and they’re actually people who live close to the country. “My experience tells me that when when it comes to maintaining access to water, fishable lakes, swimmable lakes, places where people can hike and camp and hunt and fish, there will be strong opposition to that. of regardless of which political party is in charge. Washington.”