A Republican Blueprint for Environmental Leadership: Energy, Land, and People

Reclaiming Conservation: A Republican Agenda for Energy, Land, and Environmental Renewal

‘Tis the first week of December 2024 and most of Trump 47’s cabinet is assembled in nominative status. This prompts the thought that no Republican administration since Nixon has created the semblance of a coherent environmental policy portfolio for implementation. I have lived through ten administration changes and the four Republican administrations, which since Nixon/Ford always have been both reactionary and atavistic on environmental policies, rather than forward thinking and demonstrative in executing a coordinated portfolio of pro-active, people-centric policies combining energy, land and water conservation, and pollution controls. Maybe it is time?

In addition to unraveling the multiple regulatory strangulations of the Biden administration and the needless grasping of additional federal land declarations through additive National Monuments, there are a number of coherent initiatives that beg for implementation. One overarching goal is the need for interagency coordination. Over the last 30 years, Democratic administrations have not only structured a massive regulatory overburden, but they have propelled a complete lack of coordination and the creation of independent agency silos, so we now have autonomous bureaucracies perpetuating their own domains of exclusivity.

A simple set of initial actionable recommendations follow, and given the glacial pace of Congressional intervention and reform, administrative execution is advised:

First, on energy, propel a nuclear renaissance to solidify our base load capacity and ability to keep our energy-thirsty technology humming by simplifying regulations for plant building and creating an environment to attract private investment. Second, the market expansion of natural gas should continue for domestic consumption (such as building a pipeline across New York to feed energy-impoverished New England states) and export to Europe and Africa. Third, protect oil and gas production from excessive environmental attacks to give us a national umbrella of energy security and transportation efficiency.

USDA needs comprehensive attention to focus on Conservation, not Climate. The Obama/Biden administrations took the C for conservation out of the principal agency for farmers and ranchers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). They inserted Climate as a substitute with a subtext for diversity, effectively neutering the agency’s always-limited effectiveness. Despite billions of dollars spent, their portfolio of programs is a tower of Babel of bureaucratic stipulations. Conservation programs, which number over 15, should be combined and reduced to five at most. Emphasis should be placed on technical service providers to help clients (farmers and landowners) through their unintelligible maze of offerings. Conservation management and endangered species recovery should be priorities.

Also, under USDA, The US Forest Service (USFS) needs a complete overhaul and revitalization. The agency has descended to a pile of cinders and ashes, with bureaucrats overseeing burnt, overgrown forests. Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot established our western forests for community-based conservation. They were to be “used,” and forest management receipts were designed to sustain rural communities for both schools and sustainable forest product businesses. The State and Private Forest program (SPF) should be reconfigured to resuscitate local forest product businesses and to integrate American Indian forest management expertise to our National Forests, which the agency has demonstrated a complete incapacity to manage, abetted by overzealous environmental litigants.

Interior Department: should be an emporium for drill Baby drill, and shovel Baby shovel to resurrect our mining of strategic and critical minerals and coal, throwing off the wet blanket of democratic climate suffocation policies in the 48 states and Alaska. Underneath these vital initiatives lies a subtle but comprehensive conservation initiative begging for action: the recovery of endangered species. Oil and Gas companies could be in the vanguard for species recovery. For the past 30 years, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has demonstrated a complete incapacity for recovering species, only 3 percent of thousands listed. The two keys to jump-starting recovery are private land conservation (71 percent of the USA is privately owned, and 80+ percent of endangered species habitat is on private lands) and full-throttle interagency coordination. Recovery will only be accomplished with full-scale, multiple-agency engagement of private landowners through voluntary and incentive-based conservation applications. What most Swamp people do not recognize is that Interior’s FWS only has a $150m budget for endangered species, while across the mall; USDA spends over $3.2 Billion annually on these species. The Department of Defense, with its REPI program, has one of the most effective species recovery programs in the federal universe. The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) was responsible for recovering the least tern in the last decades. Species recovery requires an integrated, coordinated effort involving Interior agencies (FWS, BLM, NPS, BIA, USGS), USDA agencies (NRCS, FSA, USFS), Commerce agencies (NOAA/NMFS), and DOD.

Additionally, support for states through ESA Section 6 grant funding should be increased to promote on-the-ground conservation and state leadership. This initiative should focus geographically on watershed restorations. It is made to order for MAGA (Make Agriculture Great Again) implementation in partnership with private land owners across the country with a focus on county-level, community-based conservation pilots, such as the Malpais Borderlands Group in NM/AZ. Federal agency stove pipes need to be demolished, and DOGE can facilitate this effort, and cooperation with states is strengthened. Since federal agencies (DOI and USDA) have demonstrated an inability to manage their land estate, accretive land acquisition programs such as LWCF and forest legacy should also be submitted to DOGE for financial pruning. Future federal acquisitions should require the approval of the applicable state’s Governor.

The Nixon/Ford administrations provided the foundation for most of our progressive environmental infrastructure. Subsequent Republican administrations focused on trimming back Democratic excesses but never developed a programmatic alternative for upgrading conservation. We have experienced over 30 years where every environmental initiative is bannered with climate change based on fallacious science and deficient computer models and regulatory impositions. Successful conservation is dependent on people and culture, not solely on science, which today is often corrupted and agenda-driven. It is time to move forward under a new MAGA banner.

A little more about the Author, Amos S. Eno…

Dive into the fascinating journey of Amos S. Eno, the visionary president and founder of the Land Conservation Assistance Network (LandCAN). For over 40 years, Amos has been a dynamic force in transforming environmental policy, challenging traditional thinking across government, corporate, and environmental sectors.

Amos's passion for the natural world was kindled on Mount Desert Island, Maine, and his New Jersey home. As a child, he explored the waters of Frenchman and Blue Hill Bays, hiked through Acadia National Park, and collected nature's treasures. His love for birdwatching remains so sharp that he can identify most perching birds even while traveling at 85 mph.

With a history degree from Princeton University, Amos's adventures took him to Nepal's Chitwan Park, where he conducted bird and tiger surveys and penned the first proposal for what is now Langtang National Park. His work in East Africa focused on integrating local communities like the Maasai into conservation efforts. After his time at the Department of the Interior, he earned an M.A. in natural resources from Cornell University.

Since founding LandCAN in 2000, Amos has developed a comprehensive suite of online tools to empower private landowners in sustainable land stewardship. His groundbreaking work includes leading the New England Forestry Foundation as executive director, where he orchestrated the two largest private land conservation easements in U.S. history, totaling 1.1 million acres.

Amos's impressive career includes a decade as executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where he regionalized operations for enhanced service. His roles at the National Audubon Society and the Department of the Interior further underscore his deep commitment to conservation.

Join Amos on his Substack page to explore his insightful writings and join the conversation on innovative environmental policies and conservation strategies. Follow his journey and be part of the change: Amos S. Eno's Substack.

If you'd like to contact Amos, you can reach him directly through Substack or email at aeno@landcan.org. If you are interested in the Land Conservation Assistance Network (LandCAN), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we invite you to explore www.landcan.org. LandCAN offers invaluable tools and resources for landowners, including searchable databases for conservation programs and access to over 47,000 experts and organizations nationwide. Our goal is to connect people to conservation by providing the entire conservation community with free access to critical information, tools, and services.