Well, your ‘Wild’ won’t exist much longer Note :The executive order titled "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production" seeks "to fully exploit" America's public forest lands for timber production, framing increased logging as a matter of national and economic security Ask Perplexity: “Locate and collate all sources of Trump EO’s impact of federal lands, national parks, environmental protection and natural resource extraction. Include impact of reduction in federal workforce related to these activities” —- # Trump Administration's Impact on Federal Lands: Executive Orders, Environmental Deregulation, and Workforce Reductions The Trump administration has issued a series of executive orders and policy changes that significantly impact America's federal lands, national parks, environmental protections, and natural resource extraction. These actions, coupled with substantial reductions in the federal workforce responsible for land management, represent a fundamental shift in federal lands policy with far-reaching consequences. This report examines the current situation based on recent developments in early 2025. ## Executive Orders Targeting Public Lands and Resources The Trump administration has issued multiple executive orders since January 2025 that fundamentally reshape federal land management priorities. These orders systematically prioritize resource extraction over conservation and environmental protection across America's public lands system. The executive order titled "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production" seeks "to fully exploit" America's public forest lands for timber production, framing increased logging as a matter of national and economic security[8]. This directive compels federal agencies to accelerate logging operations through an aggressive timeline: within 30 days, agencies must issue new guidelines to accelerate logging and propose legislative changes; within 60 days, develop strategies to expedite endangered species reviews for logging projects; and within 90 days, propose aggressive new logging targets measured in millions of board feet[8]. Another executive order specifically targets Alaska's public lands, as requested by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. This order aims to dismantle public land protections to increase fossil fuel drilling, logging, mining, and roadbuilding throughout the state[4]. The administration also repealed over 78 orders issued by the Biden administration, effectively undoing environmental and subsistence use protections that had been put in place previously[4]. On his first day in office, President Trump signed sweeping executive orders declaring what critics call an "unfounded national energy emergency" to facilitate fossil fuel development[3]. These orders outline plans to streamline permitting for fossil fuel projects, accelerate pipeline construction, revoke electric vehicle incentives, push for increased offshore drilling, and withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords[3]. ### Impact on Timber Production and Forest Management The administration's forestry policies represent a dramatic shift toward prioritizing timber extraction over forest conservation. The executive order on timber production directs federal agencies to identify ways to weaken key environmental protections, including those established by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act[8]. Conservation experts warn that increased logging as mandated by these orders could have disastrous impacts on climate resilience, endangered species protection, and local economies that depend on forest-based ecotourism[2]. Danna Smith, executive director at Dogwood Alliance, characterized the order as "absolutely the wrong direction and a devastating blow," noting that "standing forests are vital to fighting the climate crisis" by sequestering carbon and buffering against climate impacts like flooding and wildfires[2]. Despite these concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated full support for increasing timber production across national forests, stating that "providing a sustainable supply of domestic timber has been one of the core missions of the USDA Forest Service since its inception 120 years ago"[2]. ## Federal Workforce Reductions and Their Operational Impact The administration has implemented widespread workforce reductions across agencies responsible for managing federal lands and environmental protection. These cuts directly affect the government's capacity to manage public lands and enforce environmental regulations. ### Systematic Workforce Reduction Strategy A February 2025 executive order requires federal agencies to severely curtail hiring and develop plans for widespread layoffs[5]. Under this directive, agencies can hire only one new employee for every four who leave in non-exempted roles, effectively ensuring significant workforce attrition[5]. The order places Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the center of these efforts, with only "essential positions" approved for hiring and requiring DOGE team member approval[5]. In what some federal employees have termed the "Valentine's Day massacre," approximately 2,000 recently hired employees were fired from the U.S. Forest Service and an additional 1,000 jobs were eliminated at the National Park Service in February 2025[6]. These layoffs affected crucial positions, including the only locksmith at Yosemite National Park, the sole EMT ranger at Devils Postpile National Monument, and experienced staff at numerous other locations[6]. Most recently, the administration has instructed National Park Service managers to outline cuts totaling 30% of the agency's payroll, which would affect the 16,000 permanent employees of the service[7]. This reduction does not necessarily translate to a 30% cut in staffing levels, as compensation varies among employees, but would nonetheless represent a significant reduction in personnel[7]. ### Operational Consequences for Public Lands The National Park Service has already experienced a 20% decrease in full-time staff since 2010 amid a 16% increase in visitation, creating existing staffing pressures before the recent cuts[1]. In 2023, the agency's more than 400 parks recorded 325.5 million visits, contributing a record-high $55.6 billion to the nation's economy[1]. Current and former park employees warn that reduced staffing will have immediate and visible consequences for public land users. These include longer entry lines, reduced maintenance of facilities, potentially dirty bathrooms, and unsafe conditions for hikers and campers during busy tourist seasons[6]. As one former forestry technician noted, "The lands are all still there, but there won't be anybody to manage them. I'm afraid people will lose access if there's no staff to maintain and operate the campgrounds, service the cabins, clean the bathroom"[6]. Lincoln Larson, an associate professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at NC State, predicts that these staff reductions could lead to "reduced hours, the increased usage of timed entry, and the closure of trails, campgrounds, visitor centers and other facilities at national parks and other public lands"[1]. Some parks, including Yosemite National Park, have already begun experiencing operational issues resulting from the layoffs[1]. ## Environmental Protection Rollbacks Beyond staffing cuts, the administration has initiated a systematic dismantling of environmental regulations and protections that have governed federal lands management for decades. The administration has made sweeping commitments to undermine environmental progress, including executive orders intended to dismantle air and water protections and to end climate and environmental justice investments[3]. These actions, according to critics, represent a renewed "assault on environmental protections" that could have significant implications for public health and environmental quality[3]. The timber production executive order specifically targets environmental review processes by directing agencies to rush through endangered species reviews for logging projects and slash oversight that protects at-risk wildlife[8]. Conservation organizations warn that these combined actions constitute "an unprecedented assault on science-based decision-making, environmental protections, wildlife, and communities that depend on these forests for clean drinking water"[8]. The expedited permitting processes for timber extraction include changes to requirements set under the Endangered Species Act, potentially threatening habitat protection for vulnerable species[2]. At the same time, climate considerations appear to be systematically removed from federal land management decisions, despite warnings from scientists about forests' critical role in carbon sequestration and climate resilience[2]. ## Regional Focus: Alaska's Public Lands Alaska's vast public lands have received special attention in the administration's executive orders, with specific directives aimed at opening more of the state to resource extraction. The Alaska-specific executive order seeks to undo environmental and subsistence use protections enacted by the Biden administration while advancing new measures to open additional Alaska lands for resource extraction and loosening regulations in favor of industry[4]. These changes would affect lands that provide subsistence hunting and fishing grounds for many Alaskan communities, particularly Alaska Native peoples. Environmental advocates express particular concern about Alaska, noting that the state "is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, a trend that is wreaking havoc on communities, ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and ways of life that depend on healthy lands and waters"[4]. The administration's agenda for Alaska, according to Carole Holley of Earthjustice, "would destroy valuable habitats and subsistence hunting and fishing grounds while furthering the climate crisis"[4]. ## Conclusion The Trump administration's executive orders on federal lands management, coupled with substantial workforce reductions, represent a significant shift in public lands policy with far-reaching implications. By prioritizing resource extraction over conservation, dismantling environmental protections, and reducing the federal workforce responsible for land stewardship, these policies fundamentally alter the way America's public lands are managed. The consequences of these changes are already becoming apparent in some national parks and forests, with reduced services and operational challenges. Environmental advocates warn of longer-term impacts on climate resilience, endangered species, water quality, and recreational access. As these policies continue to be implemented throughout 2025, their full impact on America's public lands and the communities that depend on them will become increasingly evident. The simultaneous pursuit of increased resource extraction and decreased regulatory oversight, combined with significant reductions in land management personnel, creates unprecedented challenges for federal land management agencies already struggling with increased visitation and existing staffing shortages. How these agencies will fulfill their statutory obligations to protect public lands while implementing these new directives remains an open question with significant implications for the future of America's natural heritage. Sources [1] Trump's Mass Federal Layoffs Raise Concerns About the Future of ... https://cnr.ncsu.edu/news/2025/02/t...se-concerns-about-the-future-of-public-lands/ [2] Trump's Executive Order on Forests 'A Devastating Blow,' Activists Say https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03032025/trums-forest-timber-production-executive-order/ [3] Trump administration makes broad commitments to undermine ... https://www.southernenvironment.org...ments-to-undermine-environmental-protections/ [4] Earthjustice Statement: Day One Agenda from the Trump ... https://earthjustice.org/press/2025...xtractive-industries-above-all-else-in-alaska [5] Trump orders agencies to plan for widespread layoffs and attrition ... https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2...ad-layoffs-and-attrition-based-hiring/402938/ [6] Trump job cuts could throw national parks and forests into 'staffing ... https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...ional-parks-forests-staffing-chaos-rcna192803 [7] Trump administration eyes 30 percent payroll reduction at National ... https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5186981-trump-administration-national-park-service-cuts/ [8] ANALYSIS: Trump Executive Order Puts Logging Above All Else https://oregonwild.org/analysis-trump-executive-order-puts-logging-above-all-else/ [9] The Trump administration's major environmental deregulations https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trump-administrations-major-environmental-deregulations/ [10] Agencies to deliver large-scale RIF plans in two weeks https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/02/agencies-deliver-large-scale-rif-plans-two-weeks/403303/ [11] President Trump Redefines Federal Environmental Policy Through ... https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insig...icy-through-his-first-day-of-executive-orders [12] How the New Administration's Actions Will Affect National Parks https://www.npca.org/articles/6680-how-the-new-administration-s-actions-will-affect-national-parks [13] Executive Actions Substantially Revise Environmental Justice ... https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/20...-environmental-justice-policies-and-practices [14] National Park Workers Ordered to Use Talking Points on Trump Cuts https://www.propublica.org/article/national-parks-staff-cuts-talking-points [15] Executive Orders Move Oil & Gas Development, Permitting Reform ... https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/20...ng-reform-to-top-of-trump-vance-energy-agenda [16] Top 5 Energy Actions You Should Know from President Trump's First ... https://environmentalenergybrief.si...-should-know-from-president-trumps-first-day/ [17] Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Works to Remake America's ... https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-she...p-works-to-remake-americas-federal-workforce/ [18] Five Ways President Trump's Executive Orders Could Harm National ... https://www.npca.org/articles/6614-...-s-executive-orders-could-harm-national-parks [19] UPDATED | President Trump Reverses Biden Orders Involving ... https://www.nationalparkstraveler.o...ses-biden-orders-involving-national-monuments [20] Trump Guts Environmental Justice Policies, but the Fight for Justice ... https://earthjustice.org/article/tr...-policies-but-the-fight-for-justice-continues [21] Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden...ing-alaskas-extraordinary-resource-potential/ [22] Trump administration sets stage for large-scale federal layoffs https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politi...on-sets-stage-for-large-scale-federal-layoffs [23] Trump Moves to Increase Logging in National Forests https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/climate/trump-logging-national-forests.html [24] First Month of the Trump Administration: Environmental Summaries ... https://www.stinson.com/newsroom-pu...stration-environmental-summaries-and-insights [25] Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Advisory | - Alston & Bird https://www.alston.com/en/insights/...esident-trump-executive-orders-on-environment [26] President Trump Issues Executive Order to Advance “Large-Scale ... https://www.lathamreg.com/2025/02/p...-large-scale-reductions-in-federal-workforce/ [27] EPA Announces Deregulatory Initiative to "Power the Great ... https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/p...es-deregulatory-initiative-to-power-the-great [28] Guest writer: The outdoor industry's biggest worries with Trump ... https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/...st-worries-with-trump-administration-actions/ [29] Cuts to US national parks and forests spark outrage - BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx7kez4vx2o [30] Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Rapidly Expands Timber ... https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-she...ld-j-trump-rapidly-expands-timber-production/ [31] Executive Actions Signal Support for Fossil Energy and Scaling ... https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/20...and-scaling-back-of-environmental-regulations [32] Trump poised to launch new round of layoffs despite setbacks in court https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wh...s-after-agencies-submit-reduction-2025-03-14/ [33] Trump administration fires 1000 workers at NPS - AP News https://apnews.com/article/trump-na...-grand-teton-baedee0a748a6374eafb6f95aac5dadc [34] Unleashing American Energy - The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-american-energy/ [35] Rolling Back the Administrative State: Understanding Trump's ... https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2025/02/rolling-back-the-administrative-state Reference https://www.perplexity.ai/search/locate-and-collate-all-sources-.q2RfXvORqmzxSWA3YVKow
You are working very hard collecting all this data. I appreciate your efforts. But neither you, nor I, can do anything about it. US voters wanted this. That country is a democracy as is mine. In democratic cultures, we learn to respect the people's mandate irrespective of our own world view. It would help if we put all this effort in improving our trading. That way we become better world citizens.
Yeah, and you watch all that drilling on yer sacred land Tonto or yer wigwam might collapse. Xenophobic Nazi that you are.
I hear Donald is so excited about his phonecall with Vladimir today that he got a bit excited in bed last night and had to change pyjamas 3 times. I wonder how far he'll manage to get his tongue down the phone line.
You know, at first I thought SimpleMeLike must be pretending to be a black person. But then, on closer inspection, I think he may well be..and playing a game of exposing white (mainly Jewish?) Wall Street criminals who keep getting away with it in an attempt to shock a lot of us when looking in the mirror. Well, in my eyes a crook is a crook. I really don't care what colour or religion they belong to. Do the crime, do the time.
He don't tolerate no outsiders. It's all America First. Vereinigte Staaten uber alles !! "Imagery of Native Americans was appropriated in Nazi propaganda and used both against the US and to promote a "holistic understanding of Nature" among Germans, which gained widespread support from various segments of the political spectrum in Germany.[37][38] The connection between anti-American sentiment and sympathetic feelings toward the underprivileged but authentic Indians is common in Germany, and it was to be found among both Nazi propagandists such as Goebbels and left-leaning writers such as Nikolaus Lenau as well."