Trump's land grab - in 7 maps
Trump has offered milllion of acres of wildlands to oil and gas.
Michael Russo
Our new series of maps shows how the Trump administration’s rush to open public lands to drilling and mining is redrawing the American landscape. The maps are being released about a week before another round of public oil and gas lease sales and in concert with maps unveiled by The Guardian that are also drawn from Wilderness Society data.
These maps show how in just two short years the administration has begun to radically alter the American landscape. Over 2017 and 2018, President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke have rolled back protections on millions of acres of land and water that were conserved for cultural, ecological, and recreational reasons. At the same time he has offered up millions of acres to oil and gas development, and many of these acres are in the top percent of wildest places in our nation and critical to wildlife.
“This is how Trump’s call for so-called energy dominance plan looks when put into practice,” said Jenny Kordick, TWS’ climate and energy advocacy director. “In service of special interests, the administration has pushed to open millions of acres to drilling and mining, even as polls say the it’s out of step with mainstream American values.”
Explore the storymap to see the destruction Trump is causing:
