White House Creates Make America Beautiful Again Commission

The White House has issued an executive order this evening creating a commission charged with looking at how to expand access to public lands for hunting, fishing and other activities, recover fish and wildlife, and conserve national parks and recreational areas.

It’s … quite a turn-around in the public land vibe from this time a week ago when hunters, anglers and others were screaming at the top of our lungs to squish a Republican senator’s scheme that threatened our access and critter habitat.

The order, signed by President Trump, establishes the Make America Beautiful Again Commission and says it “shall advise and assist the President regarding how best to responsibly conserve America’s national treasures and natural resources.”

“Years of mismanagement, regulatory overreach, and neglect of routine maintenance require action.  Land-use restrictions have stripped hunters, fishers, hikers, and outdoorsmen of access to public lands that belong to them. These bureaucratic restrictions have undermined outdoor traditions and threatened conservation funding,” the order states.

“Through both innovation and commonsense policies, America can preserve its natural beauty and expand outdoor recreation opportunities for future generations. It is the policy of my Administration to prioritize responsible conservation, restore our lands and waters, and protect our Nation’s outdoor heritage for the enjoyment of the American people,” it adds.

The commission will include a number of federal agency heads and be chaired by the Secretary of the Interior.

The order directs all federal land managers – think Forest Service, BLM, USFWS, etc. – to ensure their policies:

(a) promote responsible stewardship of natural resources while driving economic growth;

(b)  expand access to public lands and waters for recreation, hunting, and fishing;

(c)  encourage responsible, voluntary conservation efforts;

(d)  cut bureaucratic delays that hinder effective environmental management; and

(e)  recover America’s fish and wildlife populations through proactive, voluntary, on-the-ground collaborative conservation efforts.

Another portion tasks the commission with monitoring implementation of the order, providing recommendations to improve conservation efforts, work with state agencies to recover fish and wildlife, expand access to clean drinking water, and come up with policies “to expand access to public lands, national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges while promoting a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities like hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, boating, off-roading, and wildlife viewing.”

The announcement drew cautious responses …

“The details of how this new policy is enacted will matter, and we want to see meaningful results, but any day we are talking about ensuring clean water and putting conservation back on the agenda is a good day,” stated Tom Kiernan, American Rivers president and CEO. “The stakes for our health, safety, and water security are high and it’s essential that we come together to safeguard our outdoor heritage and the natural resources that sustain us all.” 

“(Trust for Public Land) looks forward to working with the newly-formed commission and continuing to partner with federal, state, and local governments and with tribal nations to help connect more Americans to the outdoors, and to leave our public lands and waters better than we found them for future generations,” said Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, TPL president and CEO.

… as well as outright skepticism:

“Given the all-out assault on clean water, public lands and wildlife protection from the Trump administration, it’s hard not to be skeptical of anything it announces,” Andrew Wetzler at the Natural Resources Defense Council told The Washington Post.

Indeed, the order comes at the same time as “Trump Administration Rolls Back Roadless Area Protections“, “Trump megabill gives the oil industry everything it wants and ends key support for solar and wind” and “EPA puts 139 employees on leave after they publicly criticized Trump’s environmental policies” are headline news this week.

Another executive order this evening looks to fund national park improvements with higher entry fees for foreign visitors.

Speaking of The Post, it has a lengthy article about MABA and says the idea stems from a draft Benji Backer, “a 27-year-old self-described conservative environmentalist” who heads up Nature is Nonpartisian, presented to the White House this February.

“They might be skeptical that this is just a greenwashing thing,” allowed Backer of some environmental groups’ reactions during an interview the newspaper, “… but our goal is for the EO to inform the most impactful environmental policy package since Teddy Roosevelt.”

After meeting with the White House, Backer met with conservation-world nonprofits including Ducks Unlimited.

“Since our founding in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has been working to Make America Beautiful Again,” tweeted DU CEO Adam Putnam this evening. “America will soon celebrate 250 years of freedom, including those cherished sporting traditions of hunting and fishing. Protecting that freedom for the next generation of outdoorsmen and women is a responsibility that we take very seriously, and we can’t achieve that goal without conserving and restoring North America’s wetlands and waterfowl habitat. We look forward to supporting this commission alongside our partners, and we thank @POTUS for prioritizing wildlife, their habitats, and America’s hunters and anglers through this Executive Order.”

Nature is Nonpartisan posted a bunch of slides about MABA and says that the National Wildlife Federation is also part of the coalition, though neither NWF or its president Collin O’Mara appear to have made any statements this evening. An automatic reply from an organization spokeswoman asked for comment stated, “NWF Offices are closed for the week.”