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Environmental organizations are gearing up to push back against the incoming Trump administration, which is expected to make sweeping policy changes quickly. Experts predict that Trump will focus on expanding oil and gas drilling, reducing federal land preservation, and repealing or paring back Biden-era legislation. Cabinet picks and statements made by Trump support this agenda, with plans to “drill, drill, drill” on day one. Environmental groups are preparing for legal battles, soliciting donations, and anticipating changes to environmental protections by the new administration. Trump’s transition team did not comment on these predictions.
The nonpartisan Brookings Institution tracked at least 74 actions weakening environmental policy in Trump’s first term, and more changes are expected. Environmental groups, such as the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council, are already strategizing legal challenges in anticipation of threats to environmental protections. They have a history of successful legal battles against the previous administration.
Conservation groups are also anticipating fights over protected federal land, particularly in the Southwest. The Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah may be targeted for dismantling, similar to actions taken by Trump in his first term. These groups are prepared to take legal action to protect these areas if necessary.
Despite expected challenges, Wetzler of the NRDC believes some environmental policies, such as clean water investments and clean energy projects in Republican districts, may face resistance from within the GOP. Bipartisan support for preserving access to water and conserving natural resources could provide a barrier to some of the new administration’s potential policy changes.
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