Days after its Congressional allies sought to privatize vast swaths of public lands across the country, the Trump administration is launching a new commission charged with making those landscapes “beautiful.”
In a brief executive order, Donald Trump called for the formation of the “Make America Beautiful Again” commission. Chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who also serves as the administration’s energy czar, the commission is tasked with providing recommendations on conserving “America’s national treasures and natural resources.” A parallel executive order directs the Department of the Interior to consider charging foreign visitors higher entrance fees to the National Park System.
While conservatives have hailed the order as an environmental win, the Trump administration’s record is one of the most pro-polluter in the country’s history. On his first day back in office, Trump issued a flurry of executive orders opening up the Arctic to oil and gas drilling and prioritizing energy development on public lands. The administration has also fast-tracked drilling and mining projects on public lands, slashed royalty rates oil and gas companies must pay for drilling on public lands, and gutted bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act.
In response, Dan Ritzman, Director of Conservation at Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“This country has some of the most majestic and treasured public lands in the world. If we hope to pass that unparalleled heritage onto the next generation, those landscapes need stewardship and resources. Donald Trump is offering anything but. From day one, the Trump administration has slashed budgets at conservation agencies, fired thousands of essential conservation staff, gutted bedrock environmental laws, and given free rein to billionaires and corporations to pollute our public lands. ‘Make America Beautiful Again’ is the tiniest fig leaf on the most anti-environment administration in our country’s history.”
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.