For my own mental health, I’ve mostly avoided speaking on politics online in recent years. And I didn’t expect to do it here so soon, but I have to get this off my chest. I have to speak on why Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office is not a good sign for the health of the Southwest’s natural areas and cultural sites.
In our modern society driven mostly by economic growth, our natural areas are under immense pressure. Pressure from ever expanding housing developments. Pressure from mining and logging. Pressure from the exploding number of people heading outdoors. Pressure from increasingly extreme weather and climate events, driven by the greenhouse gasses constantly pumped into our planet’s atmosphere.
Most of these pressures come from private industry seeking growth and profits above all else, and environmental protection initiatives to address these pressures come not from private industry, but from the government acting in the best interest of everyone and everything effected.
And so our natural areas NEED protection, attention, and stewardship from our government. When neglected, we can see consequences such as reduction in populations of threatened and endangered species, raiding or vandalization of cultural sites, and damage and destruction of fragile ecosystems. Not to mention the toll that extreme weather and climate events can have — and for the Southwest — the most pressing of which is the longterm drought that is negatively affecting native plants, wildlife, ecosystems, and our water supply.
You need only look at the track record of policy decisions made by Trump during his first term to see that he cares 0% for taking care of the natural environment of the Southwest — or anywhere at all. Here’s the rundown of the most significant decisions the Trump administration made from 2017 to 2021 that was directly in opposition to conservation efforts here:
- Bears Ears National Monument reduction (2017):
- Reduced protected area by approximately 85%
- Affected numerous indigenous cultural sites
- Opened previously protected areas to mining and drilling
- Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument reduction (2017):
- Reduced protected area by approximately 50%
- Opened previously protected areas to mining, particularly coal deposits
- Reduced protection for significant paleontological sites, archaeological sites, and wildlife corridors
- General public lands policies:
- Expedited oil and gas leasing processes on public lands
- Reduced environmental review requirements for federal projects
- Modified Endangered Species Act implementation
- Water protection changes:
- Revised Clean Water Act interpretations affecting desert waterways
- Modified regulations affecting seasonal streams common in Southwest
- Climate policy shifts:
- Withdrew from Paris Climate Agreement
- Relaxed methane emission regulations
- Changed fuel efficiency standards
Not to mention the environmental disaster that was Trump’s border wall construction project, which produced negative impacts on the following areas:
- Water Resources
- Pumped millions of gallons of groundwater from desert aquifers for construction
- Disrupted natural water flows and drainages
- Affected crucial desert springs and oases
- Protected Lands
- Bypassed environmental laws using REAL ID Act waivers
- Construction through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Impacted San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
- Cut through San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
- Wildlife Effects
- Fragmented critical wildlife corridors
- Blocked migration routes for numerous species including:
- Sonoran pronghorn
- Mexican gray wolves
- Bighorn sheep
- Jaguars
- Native Plants
- Destroyed thousands of saguaro cacti, some centuries old
- Blasted through portions of Coronado National Forest
- Cleared sensitive desert vegetation
- Cultural/Archaeological Impacts
- Damaged Tohono O’odham sacred sites and burial grounds
- Construction through archaeological sites in Organ Pipe
- Disturbed numerous archaeological sites along the border
So I shudder to think what another term of Trump in office means for our beloved natural areas. And outside of nature and the environment, I shudder to think of what it means for democracy and human rights in America.
It appears that America has chosen Trump to lead us for another four years, and that decision is completely at odds with my values, and therefore the values that drive this website, and my newsletter Daily Dose of the Southwest.
For all of us that love the Southwest, I hope the next four years (and beyond) are not a complete environmental disaster. I also hope that this is the last time in a long while that its necessary to get overtly political in this space.
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Photo: Sunset over the Paria toadstools in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
