President Donald Trump attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, appearing at a facility dedicated to a conservationist president whose conservation record stands in contrast to his administration’s environmental rollbacks.
The event, part of Trump’s Freedom 250 tour marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, took place as Roosevelt’s record of protecting nearly 230 million acres of public lands during his 1901-1909 presidency coincides with the Trump administration’s moves to lift protections from more than 86 million acres, a Center for American Progress analysis found this week. The land losing protections is equivalent in size to more than 70 Grand Canyons or 38 Yellowstone National Parks, the liberal think tank said.
Trump’s appearance came as his Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has rolled back safeguards under the Endangered Species Act, protections for migratory birds, and protections for swaths of federal waters. “Roosevelt believed that preserving America’s natural heritage and outdoors birthright was a sacred obligation,” said Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for the conservation campaign Save Our Parks. “Doug Burgum is destroying that heritage for Trump’s whims, allies, and political donors.”
The Center for American Progress calculated that when combined with actions Trump undertook during his first term, his administration has moved to lift protections from more than 100 million acres of land.
“As millions of Americans celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary this summer by visiting national parks, forests, and monuments, the country’s rich conservation legacy is being erased,” said Sam Zeno, senior policy analyst for conservation policy at CAP and co-author of the report. “Despite overwhelming public support for conserving the nation’s shared resources, President Trump is putting these lands and waters at risk.”
The removed safeguards will open untouched forests to development, expose habitat-rich landscapes in Alaska to oil drilling, and put unique wilderness areas such as Minnesota’s Boundary Waters at risk of contamination, according to the CAP authors.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, located one mile from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, examines Roosevelt’s life and legacy, including his conservation ideas and his Rough Riders regiment. The national park itself faces staffing cuts because of the Trump administration’s rollbacks, O’Neill said. “No photo op will change the damage Trump and Burgum are doing to the wildlife, lands, and parks Roosevelt fought to protect for all Americans,” he said.
The Guardian has contacted the Interior Department and White House for comment.