We Filed Suit to Defend Public Lands — And Democracy
WWP joins a nationwide lawsuit to stop Trump’s illegal attempt to dismantle federal agencies, destroy environmental protections, and hand over public lands to private industry.
Western Watersheds Project has joined a broad coalition of labor unions, nonprofits, and local governments in a major new lawsuit led by Protect Democracy, challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful reorganization of the federal government. Together, we are demanding an end to Executive Order 14210 — an unconstitutional attempt to dismantle public service protections, fire thousands of federal employees, and sabotage the critical work of federal agencies without a single vote from Congress.
We didn’t join this lawsuit lightly. We joined because the stakes for public lands — and for the environment — could not be higher.
The Trump administration’s mass firings are not random. They are a deliberate attempt to gut the very agencies responsible for enforcing environmental laws, protecting endangered species, managing public lands, and holding polluters accountable. By hollowing out federal departments, the administration aims to clear the path for industry takeovers, unregulated development, massive rollbacks of conservation protections, and selling off western public lands.
We know this because the administration itself has already revealed its true intentions. Thanks to investigative work by Public Domain, the draft Strategic Plan for the Department of the Interior was leaked to the public — and it paints a chilling picture of what’s ahead.
The leaked plan outlines a roadmap for "streamlining" environmental review processes, transferring federal public lands to state and private interests, putting anti-environmental local governments in control of land-use decisions, and prioritizing resource extraction over conservation. It confirms that the Trump administration's real goal is to deconstruct public land management as we know it, tilting power heavily toward industry and away from the public interest.
Mass firings are not just an attack on workers — they are an attack on clean air, clean water, healthy ecosystems, and the very idea that our public lands belong to all Americans, not just the wealthy few.
Western Watersheds Project exists to defend public lands from precisely these kinds of threats. For decades, we’ve worked to hold federal agencies accountable, enforce environmental laws, and protect the irreplaceable landscapes and species of the American West. We believe deeply that the federal government should work for the people — not be hollowed out by executive fiat to serve polluting industries.
This lawsuit is a defense of much more than a few thousand jobs — it is a defense of the public lands system, of environmental safeguards, and of the democratic principles that keep federal agencies working for all Americans, not just powerful special interests.
We’re proud to stand alongside our allies and fight this unlawful power grab. And we will continue to fight — in courtrooms, on public lands, and in the court of public opinion — until the integrity of our government and the future of our environment are secure.
Public lands are not for sale. Public service is not expendable. Our democracy is not negotiable. Stay tuned. This fight is just beginning.
We need many more of you!!
I hope the suit meets with success. Litigation is a long tortuous road in this country with the outcome never certain. But I think the prospects are good.