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America’s natural grandeur, wide-open spaces and vast frontiers have inspired patriots for generations. As Americans pushed west, we learned to work with the land. We established national parks to protect the diverse geography that spans the nation and fuel economic prosperity. And we united around the desire to conserve America’s beauty and natural resources for generations to come.
But for the last several decades, the environment has become engulfed in partisan culture wars. As a result, our nation’s leaders have increasingly failed to enact durable, long-lasting, and balanced environmental policies. A subject matter that once transcended partisan politics and brought leaders from all sides together has seen little to no substantial progress in the modern political era.
These years of mismanagement, regulatory overreach and neglect have left America’s natural resources in crisis. We’ve seen glimmers of hope with overwhelming bipartisan support for conservation legislation — like the "Great American Outdoors Act." But issues with broad support nationwide remain trapped in partisan gridlock.
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Today, the National Park System is in $23 billion of debt. Poor forest management is exacerbating already catastrophic wildfires, costing our country between $394 billion and $893 billion annually. Unnecessarily stringent restrictions are stripping hunting and recreational access to public lands. Our nation’s ecosystems and wildlife populations are in a state of disrepair. And America’s water infrastructure no longer provides our agricultural industry and communities with the resources they need to flourish.
President Donald Trump is organizing a commission to protect our natural legacy. FILE: Glacier National Park is surrounded by chiseled valleys and peaks in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. Known for its rugged and breathtaking landscapes, Glacier was named a national park in 1910. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It should have never come to this — and it’s time to right the ship. We are dedicated to putting every American first by prioritizing conservation, restoring our lands and waters and protecting our nation’s outdoor heritage.
That is why President Donald Trump signed an executive order to "Make America Beautiful Again." This order is a monumental first step to restoring America’s natural beauty through bold leadership, innovation and commonsense policies.
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The order establishes the Make America Beautiful Again Commission, which will give a politically diverse set of elected leaders, experts, nonprofits and other decision-makers with a wide variety of backgrounds a seat at the table. The commission will then submit a comprehensive strategy outlining recommended actions for achieving long-term conservation success.
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The Make America Beautiful Again Commission will bring federal and state officials, private sector leaders, conservation organizations and tribal governments together to develop policy strategies for conservation. This executive order turns the nation's attention to the protection of our natural beauty and the expansion of our outdoor heritage.
This commission provides an opportunity for us to protect water resources, restore forests and natural habitats, reduce waste and pollution, recover America’s wildlife, enhance hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation on public lands, building environmental resilience and security, and advance conservation education and global leadership.
The purpose of establishing this commission is to develop commonsense solutions and kick-start action that all Americans can agree is much needed and long overdue. Getting that job done requires bipartisan, inter-agency partnerships — bringing folks together to discuss their personal experiences and insights regarding environmental efforts, working to reach compromises and forming unlikely alliances around our shared love of nature.
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America’s conservation legacy has faded over the last few decades — but our pride for our nation’s beauty lives on. As we celebrate the kickoff of America’s 250th birthday, we are not only filled with pride and patriotism for this great nation, we are also reminded of our great responsibility to leave this democracy more beautiful than we found it.
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The US is home to 63 different national parks. FILE: Bison by the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park
We understand that it is our duty to conserve our natural resources, to be good stewards of our land, and to create long-lasting policies that actually work for the environment, the economy and the American people. From sea to shining sea, the natural majesty of the United States of America must be protected and passed down to future generations.
We are kickstarting the restoration of our country’s conservation legacy with this executive order. But the real work starts now as we come together to do all that we can to preserve our natural beauty, conserve our natural resources and Make America Beautiful Again.
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Benji Backer is the Founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan. He also serves as the Executive Chairman of the American Conservation Coalition and is the best-selling author of "The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future."
