Trump's Project 2025 Attack On The Department Of Interior Might Be Worse Than EPA Dismantling

An Extractors Paradise

• "Drill Baby Drill" On Steroids

• Endangered Species Act, NEPA, Alaska, & Western Lands On The Chopping Block

The Heritage Foundation's radical Project 2025, designed as the policy, program and personnel Strategic Plan for a second Trump administration, is finally getting some attention by the media, Democrats, and advocacy groups.

For the most part, the Plan is being denounced by superficial slogans, with little substantive analysis of what's actually in the plan. The primary focus of the media and criticism is on the culture wars.

Limited exceptions to this superficial coverage and culture war emphasis include a policy focus on:

1) the attack on the federal civil service system and its replacement by a Trump political loyalty program (AKA "Schedule F"); and

2) a recent NY Times story on attacks on EPA environmental and climate programs.

We initially wrote to warn about the threat of Project 2025 to EPA, science, climate, and environmental programs last July, and more recently here and here.

But I focused on EPA and did not read Chapter 16, on the Department of Interior until last week.

I was astounded.

The implications and impacts of the attacks on DoI could be worse than those at US EPA. So, here's a first cut very cursory bulleted overview and verbatim excerpts of the recommendations (with page numbers) :

1. Promotes Mining

• Reduce the number of field coal-reclamation inspectors

• Reissue Trump’s Schedule F executive order

• Permit coal company employees to benefit from the OSM Training (p.535)

2. Eliminates Endangered Species Act Protections

• Delist the grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystems

• Delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 states

• Cede to western states jurisdiction over the greater sage-grouse

• Abolish the Biological Resources Division of USGS

3. Gut the Endangered Species Act

"reform of the Endangered Species Act requires that Congress take action to restore its original purpose and end its use to seize private property, prevent economic development, and interfere with the rights of states over their wildlife populations.

4. Gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

"DOI should reinstate the secretarial orders adopted by the Trump Administration, .... eliminate judicial review of the adequacy of NEPA documents or the rectitude of NEPA decisions." (p.533)

5. Log and Destroy Oregon and California Forests

"the new Administration must immediately fulfill its responsibilities and manage the Oregon and California lands for “permanent forest production” to ensure that the timber is “sold, cut, and removed" (p.533)

6. The End Of National Monument Designation

"the new Administration must seek repeal of the Antiquities Act of 1906" (p.532)

7. Destroy Unique Lands And Waters

• Issue a secretarial order declaring navigable waters in Alaska to be owned by the state

• Reinstate President Trump’s 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska

• Vacate The 30 by 30 Plan President Biden’s Ex. Order 14008

8. Kill Fish and Wildlife

• Revoke National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules regarding predator control and bear baiting

• Recognize Alaska’s authority to manage fish and game on all federal lands (p.531)

9. Drill Alaska

• Approve the 2020 National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Integrated Activity Plan

• Reinstate the 2020 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Impact Statement

• Approve the 2020 Willow EIS, the largest pending oil and gas projection in the US (p.530)

• Reinstate President Trump’s plan for opening most of the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska to leasing and development" (p.524)

10. Rollback Regulatory Protections

"Rollbacks. A new Administration must immediately roll back Biden’s orders, reinstate Trump-era Energy Dominance Agenda, rescind Secretarial Order (SO) 3398, and review all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, & similar actions" p.521

Rulemaking. The following policy reversals require rulemaking: Rescind Biden rules, reinstate Trump rules:

• Endangered Species Act rules defining Critical Habitat and

• Critical Habitat Exclusions Migratory Bird Treaty Act

• CEQ reforms to NEPA p.524

11. Expedite Oil and Gas Leases And Drilling

"Require regional offices to complete right-of-way and drilling permits within the average time it takes states in the region to complete them." p.523

Reinstate quarterly onshore lease sales in all producing states Conduct offshore oil/natural gas lease sales to the maximum extent establish leasing & development program in Coastal Plainof Alaska Conclude review of the coal leasing program

"the new Administration must immediately reinstate the following Trump DOI secretarial orders: (all coal, oil, gas extraction - see page 522 for specifics)

12. Block Protections Of Pristine Lands

"Abandon withdrawals of lands from leasing in Thompson Divide of the White River National Forest, Colorado; the 10-mile buffer around Chaco Cultural Historic National Park in New Mexico; and the Boundary Waters area in northern Minnesota p.523

13. Kill All Climate Programs

• DOI is abusing bureaucratic procedures to advance a radical climate agenda, ostensibly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for which DOI has no statutory responsibility or authority." (p.521)

• Given the dire adverse national impact of Biden’s war on fossil fuels, no other initiative is as important for the DOI under a conservative President than the restoration of the department’s historic role managing the nation’s vast store-house of hydrocarbons (p.520)