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The Trump administration defied Congress when it winded down conservation efforts, the Guardian reported Monday. (Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr/cc)
As part of its anti-environment agenda, the Trump administration has directly contradicted orders from Congress by cutting funding for a successful national conservation program.
The Guardian reported Monday that numerous scientists and employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) say President Donald Trump unilaterally slashed funding for a program put in place by the Obama administration in 2010 called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs).
The president's actions were denounced as "disheartening and short-sighted" by one critic on social media.
\u201cAnother disheartening and short-sighted step for this administration. https://t.co/pstSBAyTMc\u201d— David Veech (@David Veech) 1554726722
\u201cYour water, your air, your food... pay attention, America-->\n\nTrump administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/X9H6dpwJ2j\u201d— Ann Telnaes (@Ann Telnaes) 1554724635
Funding for the cooperatives, which cost about $12.5 million per year to operate, was written out of the budgets the president has submitted to Congress each year--but lobbying by native tribes and green groups helped convince lawmakers to approve the funding.
As a result, employees of the LCCs have been stunned to see the organizations shut down entirely or go on indefinite hiatus as the Trump administration has gone over legislators' heads to cut the LCCs off.
"I just haven't seen anything like this in my almost 30 years of working with the federal government," one anonymous FWS employee told the Guardian. "I'd say there could be five to six years [of work] down the drain."
The nation's 22 LCCs have recorded numerous successes since they were established nine years ago to research the climate crisis, species endangerment, threats to wildlife habitats, and communities vulnerable to extreme weather events.
On LCC in Hawaii made sure a native bird as would be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, due to habitat destruction, while another helped residents in flood-prone areas to obtain flood insurance discounts.
The Congress for American Indians told lawmakers in 2017 that LCCs "have played an important role in advancing western science and traditional knowledge with our local communities that are continually struggling to adapt to increasingly unpredictable and dangerous environments due to climate change."
On social media, Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity's Endangered Species program said the rollback of LCC funding provides more confirmation that "Trump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses."
\u201cTrump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses: Administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/t2Th1qzYYb\u201d— Noah Greenwald (@Noah Greenwald) 1554734174
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As part of its anti-environment agenda, the Trump administration has directly contradicted orders from Congress by cutting funding for a successful national conservation program.
The Guardian reported Monday that numerous scientists and employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) say President Donald Trump unilaterally slashed funding for a program put in place by the Obama administration in 2010 called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs).
The president's actions were denounced as "disheartening and short-sighted" by one critic on social media.
\u201cAnother disheartening and short-sighted step for this administration. https://t.co/pstSBAyTMc\u201d— David Veech (@David Veech) 1554726722
\u201cYour water, your air, your food... pay attention, America-->\n\nTrump administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/X9H6dpwJ2j\u201d— Ann Telnaes (@Ann Telnaes) 1554724635
Funding for the cooperatives, which cost about $12.5 million per year to operate, was written out of the budgets the president has submitted to Congress each year--but lobbying by native tribes and green groups helped convince lawmakers to approve the funding.
As a result, employees of the LCCs have been stunned to see the organizations shut down entirely or go on indefinite hiatus as the Trump administration has gone over legislators' heads to cut the LCCs off.
"I just haven't seen anything like this in my almost 30 years of working with the federal government," one anonymous FWS employee told the Guardian. "I'd say there could be five to six years [of work] down the drain."
The nation's 22 LCCs have recorded numerous successes since they were established nine years ago to research the climate crisis, species endangerment, threats to wildlife habitats, and communities vulnerable to extreme weather events.
On LCC in Hawaii made sure a native bird as would be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, due to habitat destruction, while another helped residents in flood-prone areas to obtain flood insurance discounts.
The Congress for American Indians told lawmakers in 2017 that LCCs "have played an important role in advancing western science and traditional knowledge with our local communities that are continually struggling to adapt to increasingly unpredictable and dangerous environments due to climate change."
On social media, Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity's Endangered Species program said the rollback of LCC funding provides more confirmation that "Trump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses."
\u201cTrump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses: Administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/t2Th1qzYYb\u201d— Noah Greenwald (@Noah Greenwald) 1554734174
As part of its anti-environment agenda, the Trump administration has directly contradicted orders from Congress by cutting funding for a successful national conservation program.
The Guardian reported Monday that numerous scientists and employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) say President Donald Trump unilaterally slashed funding for a program put in place by the Obama administration in 2010 called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs).
The president's actions were denounced as "disheartening and short-sighted" by one critic on social media.
\u201cAnother disheartening and short-sighted step for this administration. https://t.co/pstSBAyTMc\u201d— David Veech (@David Veech) 1554726722
\u201cYour water, your air, your food... pay attention, America-->\n\nTrump administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/X9H6dpwJ2j\u201d— Ann Telnaes (@Ann Telnaes) 1554724635
Funding for the cooperatives, which cost about $12.5 million per year to operate, was written out of the budgets the president has submitted to Congress each year--but lobbying by native tribes and green groups helped convince lawmakers to approve the funding.
As a result, employees of the LCCs have been stunned to see the organizations shut down entirely or go on indefinite hiatus as the Trump administration has gone over legislators' heads to cut the LCCs off.
"I just haven't seen anything like this in my almost 30 years of working with the federal government," one anonymous FWS employee told the Guardian. "I'd say there could be five to six years [of work] down the drain."
The nation's 22 LCCs have recorded numerous successes since they were established nine years ago to research the climate crisis, species endangerment, threats to wildlife habitats, and communities vulnerable to extreme weather events.
On LCC in Hawaii made sure a native bird as would be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, due to habitat destruction, while another helped residents in flood-prone areas to obtain flood insurance discounts.
The Congress for American Indians told lawmakers in 2017 that LCCs "have played an important role in advancing western science and traditional knowledge with our local communities that are continually struggling to adapt to increasingly unpredictable and dangerous environments due to climate change."
On social media, Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity's Endangered Species program said the rollback of LCC funding provides more confirmation that "Trump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses."
\u201cTrump doesn't care about anything but his own hotels and golf courses: Administration sabotages major conservation effort, defying Congress https://t.co/t2Th1qzYYb\u201d— Noah Greenwald (@Noah Greenwald) 1554734174