President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders in his first few hours in office with the goal of increasing the production and mining of fossil fuels on federal land and water while also reducing the rules and regulatory procedures that he and his administration find onerous.
The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are largely responsible for managing the slightly more than half of Oregon’s land that is owned by the federal government, which also includes 60% of the state’s forests. Federal agencies are in charge of sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the state to manage the state’s more than 32 million acres, which is greater than the state of Kentucky. This includes safeguarding rare or endangered species.
Since state and federal land and water frequently cross boundaries, federal cooperation with Oregon agencies and leaders—whose environmental beliefs conflict with Trump’s—is necessary.
The chiefs of Oregon’s natural resources and environmental protection agencies, along with Governor Tina Kotek and her natural resources adviser Geoff Huntington, stated that preparations have been made for this second Trump administration. Kotek and Huntington told the Capital Chronicle in separate interviews that they are ready for conflict but hope for cooperation.
In order to make sure that the federal government’s approach to land management in Oregon as closely as possible aligns with our expectations, we will make our voices heard and choose the best avenue for our participation, Huntington stated.
According to Huntington, a significant portion of his job will involve making sure the Trump administration fulfills its obligations under earlier agreements with federal agencies.
Examples include making sure the Columbia River Basin Initiative is upheld, habitat conservation plans negotiated between state and federal agencies are respected, and federal Inflation Reduction Act funds allocated for climate change initiatives are received. Following 20 years of ongoing lawsuits against the federal government for violating the Endangered Species Act and treaty rights with four Columbia Basin tribes, the Biden administration’s plan gives more than $1 billion for clean energy production and salmon restoration.
That was signed with four tribes, the states of Washington and Oregon, and we put a stop to all of the litigation based on them (the federal government) keeping those promises, regardless of whatever administration is in office. Accordingly, we will anticipate that such promises will be kept, Huntington stated.
Kotek agreed with that.
I hope nothing bad happens under the incoming administration. Kotek stated, “I want to be very clear.” I anticipate that the federal government will fulfill its obligations.
Getting ready for volatility
In the latter weeks of the Biden administration, Kotek completed four unfinished evaluations with federal agencies in anticipation of possible instability from the next government. Projects pertaining to solar energy siting, sage grouse territory preservation, resource management, and wildlife conservation in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and the Lakeview District in southern Oregon are covered.
When the federal government suggests a policy or activity on state-owned land, such reviews make sure Oregon’s interests are taken into account. According to her, Kotek is collaborating with other Western governors to make sure local and state goals are important and not just supplemental when it comes to federal policy decisions that impact Western territory.
This isn’t exclusive to Oregon. According to Kotek, Western governors and states desire greater flexibility and the capacity to collaborate in order to carry out initiatives that have more suitable local effects.
In an email, Leah Feldon, director of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, stated that her team is closely monitoring any federal plans or funding changes promoted by Trump administrators that would violate state law.
According to Feldon, agency leadership is already working to identify financial streams and programs that warrant special monitoring. These include the substantial amounts Oregon is still expected to receive from the Inflation Reduction Act and the monies states receive to enforce the federal clean air and water acts.
House Bill 2250, which was passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2019, mandates that the Environmental Quality Department assess modifications to federal environmental laws and ascertain whether they lead to less protective measures than those that were previously set by federal standards. The agency must notify the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission and suggest action to maintain enforcement of the prior standards if new federal modifications conflict with those that have already been established.
Feldon stated that we will keep carrying out this legislative responsibility.
In an email, Vicki Walker, head of the Department of State Lands, stated that she and her team are also working to make sure federal rulings do not jeopardize state regulations. Additionally, she is keeping an eye on any modifications to the government funds that the agency depends on for its continued collaboration with federal agencies. Walker gave the South Slough Reserve in a national research estuary close to Coos Bay as an example. For 50 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has collaborated with the state lands department on estuary conservation and research, with NOAA providing 60% of the financing.
“Unknowns come with any change in the federal government,” she remarked. In addition to endangering our natural resources, federal actions on Oregon lands or waters that flout state laws also jeopardize positive working relationships with federal agency partners. We’ll make an effort to keep those connections.
Kotek and the state’s natural resource authorities may file a lawsuit if disputes arise. More than 16 lawsuits opposing Trump’s actions were filed in Oregon under the last Trump administration; however, none of them focused on environmental health or land management.
Regarding lawsuits, Huntington stated, “We’re not going to take that off the table.”
Kotek stated that they will adopt a wait-and-see strategy.
“I mean, we’ll fight back if there are things that don’t align with our values,” she added in reference to any changes resulting from the Trump administration. However, I believe that these are lengthy, intricate discussions. Let me simply say that the next four years will be fascinating.
— Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Alex Baumhardt
The largest state-focused nonprofit news agency in the country, States Newsroom, includes Oregon Capital Chronicle.
