Persistence in a Generational Moment
Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In the closing days of 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, with only four votes in opposition. The near unanimous support for the ESA grew out of a groundswell of public support that had been building since the early 1960s. The Environmental Protection Agency, the ESA, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act were all created during the Nixon Administration, with strong bipartisan support.
These foundational protections for our water, lands, and wildlife were not born from an environment of peace and love. They were forged in a moment when bald eagles were on the verge of extinction, Americans were breathing toxic air, and many of our waterways were so polluted with industrial runoff that the Cuyahoga River literally caught fire. Things grew so bad that everyday Americans stood up and demanded that Congress and the Nixon Administration take action to protect the natural resources that make human life not only possible, but enjoyable. And it wasn’t a one-off. The early ‘70s echoed an earlier movement led by giants like Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir to create our national parks and national forests and to preserve the last few of diminishing species, especially bison.
“This time will be remembered as the moment the selfish interests went too far.”
In 2026, we find ourselves once again facing existential threats to our lands and waters. The EPA, ESA, and the Clean Water and Clean Air Act are all under threat. An oil executive is nominated to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Last spring, IRU members were the key player in the successful campaign to stop a proposal from Sen. Mike Lee to sell millions of acres of public lands. Currently there is a proposal to remove Roadless Rule protections from the last best National Forest lands across the country. The U.S. Forest Service itself is under threat to be dismantled and relocated to Utah, a state whose elected leaders have led the charge for sale of our nation’s public lands. Idaho’s wild salmon runs are rapidly declining, and without drastic action they will go extinct. Mine proposals threaten not just the South Fork of the Salmon, but the Boundary Waters and other previously protected places across the country.
These threats to our waters, our lands, our air, and our wildlife cannot be ignored. This time will be remembered as the moment the selfish interests went too far. Those intent on selling our lands and polluting our waters to line their own pockets took too much and gave too little. This is our generational moment. We know from our work on the Lee Amendment that calling Congress works, indeed it may be the only thing that does. And so, next week, we will be calling Congress again. We must be – and we will be – relentless. We will keep fighting, not just to stop the bad, but to build the good. These attacks on our public waters, lands, and wildlife are not just a threat, but an opportunity to fortify our resolve for clean waters, public lands, and abundant wildlife.