Top 5 ways new Trump administration policies are affecting Denali

By Charlie Loeb, Steve Carwile, Nancy Bale, and Lupine Reifler. Photo by NPS.

Like everyone else in the country and world, DCC board, members, and volunteers have been witnessing the onslaught of anti-democratic and anti-environmental policies declared during the new federal administration’s first few weeks in office. There are other distressing policies that fall outside of these two categories, but these are the ones that most affect our work as a conservation organization. While many policies will have an impact on the Denali region, we filtered out 5 that touch us most directly. Note that in some cases the “policy” is just a blustering statement of intent that requires further action in order to implement.

• National Park Service staffing. The Trump administration instituted a federal hiring freeze that prevented NPS from filling either permanent or seasonal positions. The National Parks and Conservation Association announced that the seasonal hiring freeze was lifted on February 14 so that NPS could hire workers for the summer season, but it isn’t clear whether hiring is actually proceeding. Plus, the thaw came with the firing of some employees who had been in their roles a short time and were thus on “provisional” status. Denali lost 4 employees, all of whom would also be needed for the summer season. There are many other Denali employees in the same status who are also potentially vulnerable under this arbitrary policy if it is applied more broadly. The assault on federal staffing may only have just begun, and permanent vacancies will remain unfilled including those newly-emptied provisional positions. The damage to employee’s lives and livelihoods, to the morale of employees who remain, and the function of NPS is immeasurable. This is the most immediate and damaging of new Trump administration actions.

• Changing the name of “Denali” back to “Mount McKinley.” In an executive order titled “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness,” President Trump renamed Denali once again. For at least a millennium, the tallest mountain in North America has been called Denali – a word from the Koyukon language directly translating to “high” or “tall”, but meaning “The Tall One” or “The Great One”. In the late 1890s, a gold prospector named the mountain Mt. McKinley, and the nation officially recognized this as its name in 1917 in commemoration of the 25th president of the United States. Finally, in 2015 after decades of attempts, Denali’s original name – which was already used by most Alaskans – was restored on the basis of respecting the original inhabitants and stewards of this land. Ten years later, Trump’s reason for changing the name is to “honor American greatness” – in this case, a white man from Ohio with no connection to Alaska or its tallest mountain. Ironically, what this change would do is remove a name that actually means “the great one”. Even Alaska’s republican lawmakers have formally stated being opposed to the executive order – Alaska’s House and Senate both approved a resolution asking Trump to retain the name Denali, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski has introduced federal legislation with the same objective. Note that Trump executive order applies only to the name of the mountain itself and does not change the name of the national park. While Trump has the authority to make the name change, he has not yet followed through in the same way as he has with the “Gulf of America.”

• Removing the environment as a National Environmental Policy Act consideration. NEPA is the bedrock act that enables much of the work DCC and other conservation groups do thanks to its mandates for public involvement in federal decision-making, consideration of alternative courses of action, and evaluation of environmental impacts from federal activities. Trump’s January 20 Executive Order “Unleashing American Energy” explicitly targets NEPA application to oil industry projects, but its provisions affect all of the federal government’s approach to NEPA. The Order seeks to rescind the consistent NEPA regulations provided by the Council on Environmental Quality (essentially removing CEQ’s oversight of NEPA) and it emphasizes that “all agencies must prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other objectives, including those of activist groups…” “Other objectives”, like protecting the environment? In short, the general purpose of these provisions is to make permitting of energy projects faster and easier. However, the extent to which this can be done via executive order is unclear, as changes must be consistent with existing statutes and comply with the Administrative Procedure Act. This one will require a federal rule-making process, and litigation is expected.

• Advancing the Alaska LNG pipeline. This uneconomic project that would pass through the Denali Borough and across Denali National Park’s doorstep has found yet another lease on life through a January 20 executive order, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” The EO declares the administration will “prioritize the development of Alaska’s LNG potential, including the permitting of all necessary pipeline and export infrastructure related to the Alaska LNG Project, giving due consideration to the economic and national security benefits associated with such development.” Since the pipeline already has completed the federal permitting process, this language has no immediate impact. However, it does signal that the federal government is going to champion the project and Trump has already made a fact-free announcement regarding Japanese funding. Note that this executive order touched on many other high-priority Alaskan national park and conservation issues including the Ambler Road, King Cove Road, oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and our last Denali-specific issue.

• Overturning the new rule for hunting and trapping on National Preserves. Section 3, Item (xix) of the Alaska executive order directs the Department of the Interior to “rescind the National Park Service final rule entitled “Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves,” 89 Fed. Reg. 55059 (July 3, 2024), and reinstate the National Park Service final rule entitled “Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves,” 85 Fed. Reg. 35181 (June 9, 2020), in its original form.” The existing Preserves Rule finalized during the last year of the Biden administration replaced a Trump administration rule that was deferential to the State of Alaska (which in turn replaced an Obama-era rule – see this DCC article for the full history). The Biden rule is simple and highly defensible. It bans bear baiting in National Park Preserves, a practice that is counter to established park policy and a threat to safety. Fortunately for the existing Preserves Rule, there is a required process for reversing or changing it as with changes to NEPA regulations. This process involves posting a new rule, collecting public input, and recording a final record of decision in the Federal Register. We will be keeping our eyes open for any draft Preserves Rule that would remove the bear baiting ban, dilute NPS authority, or return to the 2020 Preserves Rule. We’ll keep you posted too.