The Center for American Progress recently analyzed the track record of the Trump regime in the conservation of lands, waters, and wildlife. It draws quite a contrast with the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the “Conservation President” admired and envied just over a century later by the one who now occupies his office.
Among the Center’s findings:
- In this term alone, this administration has eliminated protections from more than 86 million acres of U.S. public lands — “an area equivalent to more than 70 Grand Canyons or 38 Yellowstone National Parks.”
- Last summer, the administration repealed the “Roadless Rule” that would have kept 40 million acres of ecologically important forest safe from development. More than 25,000 miles of trails and recreational spaces and wildlife habitat, and drinking water for millions of Americans, is put at risk by this change.
- The administration is stripping protections previously guarding public lands in Alaska, including wildlife habitats that have survived in careful balance with the hunting and fishing needs of the indigenous communities there.
- In a new tactic, multiple lands management plans designed to protect “ecologically and culturally significant areas” in several northwestern states have been overturned through the abuse of the Congressional Review Act.
And the list goes on. The authors’ conclusion:
“No other president has come close to President Trump’s record of destruction across the country’s public lands…
“If left to stand, the Trump administration’s actions to erase millions of acres of protections will permanently alter entire landscapes and impede future generations’ enjoyment of the country’s public lands and waters.
“This July Fourth, Americans will reflect on what elements of the country’s history and legacy should be preserved and carried forward into the next 250 years. Restoring a legacy of land conservation should be high on that list.”
Summarized from “Unprotecting American Lands: How Trump Is Dismantling America’s Bipartisan Conservation Legacy” by Sophie Conroy and Sam Zeno, Center for American Progress, June 25, 2026.