Here are just a few of the recent threats to our public lands that you might not have heard about:
Just this week, the administration issued an executive order to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments by 3 MILLION acres. This ignores the will of the people and could jeopardize sacred Indigenous cultural heritage sites and important wildlife habitat in Utah.
Opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. Numerous scientific studies have suggested that oil and gas drilling in this wildlife refuge could contribute to the impacts of climate change and have negative impacts on wildlife populations, including polar bears that make their dens where seismic testing will be conducted on the coastal plain.
Proposing to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. This important executive order has been conserving 58 million acres of American forests from habitat fragmentation for over 20 years.
Public lands are a part of our cultural and environmental heritage, with a history going back to the creation of our first National Park in 1872. Healthy waters, clean air, robust wildlife populations, and intact lands have been an expectation of Americans for a long time—including for future generations.
We’re speaking out to defend our public lands because they are a part of our American identity, connecting us with our past and our future. Are you with us?
Thank you for speaking out with us this year and beyond.
