Conservation Efforts In The Trump Era

Hiker on a peak along the Anaktuvuk River Valley in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Photo George Wuerthner

After Donald Trump’s election, many wildlands advocates have become depressed and disheartened and feel that conservation efforts are over. The Trump administration will no doubt try to eliminate, thwart, or dismantle conservation laws and policies.


It is important to remember this is nothing new. The old phrase “two steps forward and one step back” often characterizes all political issues.


Looking at conservation history, I see successes, like the Migratory Bird Act, the creation of national parks and national forests, the Wilderness Act, the Alaska Lands Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other legislation, like punctuated evolution. Long periods with little forward progress, then suddenly significant changes.


Years often pass without significant conservation success, but the stars almost always line up at some point, and conservation legislation is approved. When and how this will happen can’t be predicted.


For that reason, one must be prepared to move a legislative proposal when the opportunity is presented. This requires doing the background public advocacy for years before one can get a legislative hearing.

Ernie Creek joins North Fork Koyukuk just upstream from Gates of the Arctic named by Bob Marshall in the 1930s, Gates of the Arctic NP Alaska. Photo George Wuerthner


In the 1930s Bob Marshall proposed that everything north of the Yukon River in Alaska should be protected as a huge national park. Marshall’s proposal must have seemed incredibly naïve to most Alaskans at that time. The entire 1930s Alaskan economy was based on resource exploitation like mining and commercial salmon fisheries.


Nevertheless, Marshall’s idea simmered for years. The opportunity for protecting much of northern Alaska was a consequence of oil development. When oil companies tried to build the Alaska pipeline, Alaskan natives protested. They argued that they still had legal rights to the land and pipeline construction was delayed.

Alaska pipeline TAPS near Delta Junction Alaska. Photo George Wuerthner.


Paradoxically it was the oil companies that lobbied on behalf of native groups for some kind of rapid resolution. This obstacle to pipeline construction was settled as part of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.


One clause in the Native Claims legislation required the Secretary of Interior to nominate lands for national parks, wildlife refuges and other protection which ultimately led to the protected landscape we see today. The Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act passed Congress in 1980.

Kobuk Valley National Park. Photo George Wuerthner


If one looks at a map of Alaska today, almost everything north of the Yukon River is in some kind of protected land designation. There is the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak Preserve, Arctic Wildlife Refuge, Selawik Wildlife Refuge, Cape Krusenstein, Koyukuk Wildlife Refuge, Bering Sea Land Bridge Preserve, Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge, Kanti Wildlife Refuge, and even the portion of the Naval Petroleum Reserve is semi-protected.

The Canning River in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, Brooks Range, Alaska. Photo George Wuerthner


It took fifty years, but then the stars lined up, and conservation groups mobilized to garner protection for much of the area north of the Yukon River.

Sunset Chemehuevi Mountains Wilderness California. Photo George Wuerthner


For 25 years, conservationists sought to preserve much of the California desert under the Wilderness Act. The first legislative efforts to preserve the desert wildlands began in 1986 when then Senator Alan Cranston introduced legislation. However, it was not until 1994 California Desert Protection Act passed Congress which established more than 69 new wilderness. It also upgraded Death Valley and Joshua Tree national monuments to national park status and created the Mojave National Preserve.

Whitewater Creek along Pacific Crest Trail in Snow to Sands NM, CA. Photo George Wuerthner


Subsequent legislation added 1.6 million acre Mojave Trails National Monument and Snow to Sands National Monument to the protection of the California desert.
One of the interesting historical factors in the California Desert Protection Act has lessons for all such efforts.


Jim Eaton, now deceased, at the time was Executive Director of the California Wilderness Coalition. Jim told me that when they crafted the original legislative proposal, they included every BLM area that they thought qualified for designation under the 1964 Wilderness Act. They expected that in the legislative debate over the bill they would invariably lose some of these areas.

Mojave National Preserve, CA. Photo George Wuerthner


However, opponents of the legislation focused all their energy trying to stop creation of a Mojave National Park. In the end, the compromise was the creation of a national preserve which allowed hunting and continued livestock grazing. But Eaton said, not one of the proposed wilderness areas was eliminated.


The lesson learned was to put forth the best proposal you can defend, because you never know how the political debate will turn out.

Lima Peaks Proposed Wilderness is part of NREPA. Photo George Wuerthner


There are visionary proposals that emulate past conservation efforts. For instance, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) which would designate more than 23 million acres of wilderness across five states has been repeatably introduced into Congress since 1993 . Even though it has not yet been enacted, should not discourage wilderness advocates. One never knows when the stars will line up and NREPA may pass Congress.

Hiker and Cirques in Wyoming Range from McDougal Peak, Wyoming Range , Bridger Teton NF, Wyoming is one of many proposed wilderness areas under NREPA. Photo George Wuerthner


In the meantime, NREPA acts like a roadmap showing exactly what is at stake and what could be the future for northern Rockies wildlands. It is an articulation of what we need to defend. It is a constant reminder of the opportunity that exists for wildlands preservation across the region.

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. Photo George Wuerthner


Another example is the original 9-million-acre Southern Utah Wilderness Association (SUWA) Red Rock Wilderness Act proposal for Utah’s canyon country. The Act was first introduced in 1989. Since that time SUWA has defended its proposal, and successfully shepherded some wilderness legislation through Congress. Still the remaining 8 million acre proposal remains as a reminder of what is possible and what still remains to be preserved in southern Utah.

Unite the Parks would bridge the lands between Kings Canyon NP and Yosemite NP. Sunrise on Mt Mendel Kings Canyon NP Sierra Nevada, California George Wuerthner


There are other visionary efforts across the country that I believe will invariably gain Congressional support. For instance, the Unite the Parks effort in California Sierra Nevada seeks to bridge the land between Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks with a national monument designation.

North Fork Owyhee River Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner


The effort to protect more than a million acres of Owyhee Canyonlands of Oregon is another long-term legislative effort that may soon bear fruit.


Efforts to preserve all the wildlands north of Yellowstone National Park including NREPA, as well as expansion of Yellowstone National Park or the proposal by the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance for designation of all the roadless lands on the Custer Gallatin National Fork.

Tributary of North Fork Clearwater, Clearwater NF, Idaho. Photo George Wuerthner


A similar effort to garner substantial wilderness protection of Central Idaho wildlands by the Friends of the Clearwater in Idaho is on-going.

The vastness of the Maine Woods seen from the top Borestone Mountain Maine. Photo George Wuerthner


And in Maine, RESTORE the North Woods, continues to lobby for a 3.2-million-acre national park in the region.


Restoration of wildlife is also on-going. The spread of wolves across the West, including wolf packs in California and Colorado, demonstrates that activists can achieve success.

Wild bison in geyser steam in winter. Firehole River, Yellowstone NP, WY. Photo George Wuerthner


The Montana Wild Bison Restoration Council seeks to establish several wild bison herds outside of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks across Montana and Wyoming.


One of the conclusions I’ve come to from a review of these and other conservation campaigns is that boldness and vision generates public support. And even when one only accomplishes part of that vision, visionary proposals like SUWA’s Canyon Country Act or the Alliance for Wild Rockies NREPA continue to inspire people.

Dawn at Rock Shelter Creek, Desolation Canyon Green River, Utah. Photo George Wuerthner


So, while the Trump administration is unlikely to promote conservation efforts, serendipity plays a large roll in what is possible. The lesson I take home is one must create a visionary proposal, and continuously promote it, protect its contours and be ready when the opportunity to enact protection arises.

One can get disheartened, or one can get to work. I prefer to continue working for the preservation of our wildlands and wildlife.

Comments

  1. Rick Avatar

    Excellent advice, George. There are times to act, and times to wait. I believe now is the time to hunker down, protect one’s principles and sanity, focus on things we have neglected, and be prepared to act when the opportunity arises… which likely won’t be for a number of years. Take the opportunity now to enjoy all the wonder life can offer. Let the small people fail with their own swords.

  2. Jeff Hoffman Avatar
    Jeff Hoffman

    Good advice George. I would add that considering how bad Biden/Harris has been for the environment, I don’t expect things to change that radically under Trump. It’s not like things are good now. Never give up hope, despite what realistic expectations show you.

    1. Ida Lupine Avatar
      Ida Lupine

      Totally agree. There’s always the courts too if things get too out of hand.

  3. Wayne Tyson Avatar
    Wayne Tyson

    George, I always knew you were a gol-durned JEWEL! Spread you word more widely, PLEASE!

  4. Chris Zinda Avatar
    Chris Zinda

    “One can get disheartened, or one can get to work. I prefer to continue working for the preservation of our wildlands and wildlife.”

    I’m disinhearted because conservationists think they’re preserving anything, that those who should know the difference seemingly don’t. Conservation is not bold policy, and nothing promoted by any Conservationist today is either. It’s a continuation of the losing status quo.

  5. Ida Lupine Avatar
    Ida Lupine

    “It is important to remember this is nothing new. The old phrase “two steps forward and one step back” often characterizes all political issues.”

    Yes, absolutely. Many disappointing decisions have been made under Democratic administrations as well.

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Author

George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history. He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.

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