Make America Beautiful Again: A Policy Framework to go from Executive Order to Enduring Legacy

Stewarding our natural heritage requires more than preservation for its own sake; it demands proactive conservation and active management of our lands.

Last year, the Trump White House established the Make America Beautiful Again (MABA) Commission by executive order. This was a major step toward restoring America’s natural heritage and renewing conservation leadership, highlighting conservative leadership in the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt. While executive orders like this can spark monumental change and create the appropriate permission structure, Congressional support is what truly makes it last.

This week, ACC’s sister organization is hosting a fly-in for grassroots members to come engage constructively with Congress about implementation.

“Make America Beautiful Again” is more than just a slogan for the front of a hat. It is a governing vision rooted in stewardship, access, and abundance, a vision that requires tangible policy to expand, steward, and protect Americans’ access to the outdoors. This vision means the balance of energy abundance that strengthens our grid and powers the American Dream, while minimizing our environmental impact. It also means improving wildlife health, building forest resilience to prevent catastrophic wildfires, securing our water systems against drought, and creating economic opportunities in rural areas tied to conservation and resource management.

This agenda is informed by the conservation ethos championed by President Theodore Roosevelt, who rejected preservationist ideals in favor of active stewardship. His work to expand the National Park Service, for instance, was done to further connect Americans to their natural heritage and manage it effectively. This is a far cry from the brand of environmentalism that was popularized in the 1970s, which has tended to shut down needed conservation management projects and detaches humans from nature. Modern conservative conservation should be a vision of protecting what we have while responsibly developing what we need, true to President Roosevelt’s vision so many years ago.

Ensuring Access to Our Public Lands

The protection of our natural resources begins with the connection between Americans and their land. Conservation is strongest and most durable when people feel a firsthand connection, when parks are accessible for families, when wild habitats are well-maintained for sportsmen, and when farmers and local communities can experience the direct benefits of responsible land management. In practice, this looks like addressing deferred maintenance across our parks and public lands, ensuring that land use designations are clear and evidence-based, and making federal land management decisions more transparent to the public.

Addressing Deferred Maintenance at National Parks

During President Trump’s first term, he signed the largest investment in conservation and public lands in U.S. history, permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and establishing the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF). The LRF was created to address the billion-dollar backlog of deferred maintenance at national parks and other public lands. More people visiting our National Parks is welcome news, but we need the resources to keep them beautiful for generations to come. The fund supports projects such as preserving historic and cultural sites, modernizing visitor centers and facilities, and improving trails to promote safe and responsible recreation. Through the Great American Outdoors Act, $1.3 billion was made available annually for five years to address delayed or postponed maintenance at National Parks. In September 2025, congressional authorization for the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) expired, meaning that once the funds are spent, there will be nothing left. It will be critical to reauthorize and fund the LRF to ensure Americans can continue to enjoy their national parks while protecting their beauty for generations to come. The America the Beautiful Act, introduced by Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Angus King (I-ME), is one effort aimed at doing so.

A Foreign Visitor Fee to Increase Funds for National Parks

While reauthorizing and funding the LRF is critical to the stewardship of America’s “best idea,” finding creative ways to increase funding without raising government spending is how we make the most of American taxpayers’ dollars. As it stands, Americans pay twice to support the stewardship of our National Parks, once through taxes and again at the gate. Foreign visitors, however, only pay at the gate. A modest surcharge for foreign visitors could generate significant revenue that can bolster funding for our national parks. In fact, a $100 surcharge could generate more than $1.2 billion for national parks annually, or nearly as much as was provided by the Great American Outdoors Act.

This policy idea has already gained momentum with the Administration and in Congress. Following an executive order, Secretary Burgum announced a $100 surcharge at 11 of the most visited national parks, which went into place starting January 1, 2026. Foreign visitors will also pay more for the annual pass. In Congress, Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) and Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) along with Representative Riley Moore (WV-02) and Representative Ryan Zinke (MT-01) introduced the PATRIOT Parks Act, which would codify the President’s executive order to implement the fee.

Improving Federal Management of Public Lands

Drawing on President Theodore Roosevelt’s foundational view that conservation “means development as much as it means protection,” federal land policy has long been guided by the principle of “multiple use and sustained yield”—a careful balance between responsible use and conservation. In recent years, however, some environmental advocacy efforts have shifted too far toward preservation, limiting active management and constraining the ability to responsibly develop and steward public lands. To restore this balance and ensure public lands are managed for both use and conservation, policymakers should pursue the following reforms:

• Replace the current broad definition of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) under the Bureau of Land Management with a clearer, evidence-based standard. ACEC designations should also require state affirmation through the relevant state legislature, with no designation absent such approval. Without a clear standard and meaningful input from state and local partners, situations like the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP) in southwest Wyoming will continue to occur. In this case, designated ACEC acreage increased from 226,000 acres in the previous plan to 935,000 acres in the new plan—despite objections from local officials. Locking land away for its own sake does not advance the goal of multiple use, underscoring the need for a more transparent, consistent, and collaborative approach to ACEC designations.

• Policymakers should continue using existing FLPMA authorities to strategically enhance the overall value of our public lands through targeted land exchanges, acquisitions, and sales, and reinvesting proceeds into higher-priority lands via the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation framework. Public lands are a national treasure and should remain in public hands for the benefit of all Americans. Rooted in FLPMA principles, these lands are meant to be actively managed to serve both present and future generations. Thoughtful land exchanges, acquisitions, and sales allow agencies to enhance access, conservation outcomes, and long-term stewardship without diminishing the value of these lands.

• Require the Bureau of Land Management to maintain a detailed, centralized, and publicly accessible database of all proposed and complete land acquisitions, exchanges, and disposals. While BLM has the authority to acquire, exchange, and dispose of lands, current tracking systems are limited. This makes it difficult to monitor progress, identify barriers, and address complex issues such as checkerboarding—where public and private lands are interspersed in a way that complicates management and conservation. Tools like a centralized database can help highlight these challenges, improve transparency, and guide more strategic land management decisions.

• Clarify and strengthen Congress’s oversight role in national monument designations under the Antiquities Act. While the Act was originally intended to give presidents limited authority to protect historically and scientifically significant sites, its broad language has increasingly allowed unilateral designations that lock large swaths of public land away. True conservation requires thoughtful, active management—not just locking land away in the name of preservation at the expense of the multiple-use mandate. Legislative efforts, such as the Ending Presidential Overreach on Public Lands Act and the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, aim to balance presidential authority with Congressional oversight and support more strategic land management.

Bolstering State Land Access

Support grant programs for states to purchase, maintain, or expand wildlife management areas, coastal bird hunting zones, suburban archery programs, and other related activities, ensuring hunting and fishing access is statutorily guaranteed. Much of the nation’s public land is concentrated in the Western states, while the majority of the population lives in the East. Expanding and maintaining state-managed wildlife areas, hunting zones, and related programs is an effective way to increase access for hunters and anglers. Federal support through targeted grant programs should prioritize Eastern states, helping ensure that more Americans can enjoy the outdoors close to home.

Active Management of Our Landscapes

Stewarding our natural heritage requires more than preservation for its own sake; it demands proactive conservation and active management of our lands. To achieve this, the implementation of many landmark environmental laws should be updated to reflect modern priorities and address the most pressing conservation challenges of our time. Forest health, for example, requires a shift from reactive fire suppression to building long-term resilience. This includes expanding prescribed fire where appropriate, supporting active forest management, setting clear tree-stand density goals, and empowering locally led restoration projects to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk before it starts.

Managing Our Forests

Decades of poor forest management, characterized by hands-off preservationist policies and an emphasis on wildfire suppression, have left forests unhealthy, overgrown, and increasingly prone to severe wildfire. While well-intentioned laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) were designed to improve environmental decision-making, they are now hindering our ability to complete critical forest management projects. In fact, wildfires in the West are burning forests at a rate 3.5 times faster than the U.S. Forest Service can treat them. Course correction will require policies that expedite the permitting of these projects. One approach is to expand the size of forest health projects eligible for categorical exclusions under NEPA from 3,000 to 10,000 acres. This approach helped save South Lake Tahoe after Congress approved a 10,000-acre categorical exclusion for a forest health project in the Lake Tahoe Basin. An example in Congress is the Fix Our Forests Act led by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Scott Peters (D-CA) and Senators John Curtis (R-UT), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Alex Padilla (D-CA).

Additionally, policies should encourage states to implement prescribed fire by exempting planned burns from counting against air quality standards, allowing third-party contractors to propose stewardship contracts with the U.S. Forest Service, and directing the agency to set tree stand density goals in line with historical averages to address overgrowth in national parks and national forests. This is noted in another bill, the Locally Led Restoration Act, championed by the late Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).

Empowering Ranchers to Support Conservation and Stewardship on Public Lands

Outcome-Based Grazing Authorizations (OBGAs), first piloted under the first Trump administration at the Bureau of Land Management, provide a framework for linking grazing permits to measurable conservation outcomes. This approach enables ranchers and land managers to collaborate on maintaining rangeland health, promoting stewardship, and adaptively managing public lands while balancing operational and environmental goals. The Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Act is one congressional proposal focused on advancing this approach.

Conserving Our Nation’s Wildlife

America’s wildlife is a vital part of our natural heritage, and protecting them requires more than just preventing extinction. While the Endangered Species Act has been highly effective at keeping species from disappearing, only around 3% of listed species have been fully recovered in the past 50 years, showing that avoidance of extinction alone is not enough. Currently, incentives are misaligned and often fail to encourage voluntary conservation.

To achieve meaningful, long-term outcomes, we must embrace proactive strategies that reward, rather than discourage, conservation efforts.

At the same time, we must address ongoing threats such as invasive species and wildlife diseases. Policymakers should consider the following:

• Support grant programs to states to reduce zoonotic diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease and Blue Tongue, which threaten wildlife populations, disrupt ecosystems, and pose risks to agriculture and public health. While many programs focus primarily on human health, it is equally important to address the damage these diseases can cause to wildlife populations and overall ecosystem stability.

• Modernize the Endangered Species Act to better align incentives and focus on fully recovering species—shifting the approach from defense to offense. Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) has proposed potential solutions to help make this a reality.

• Support grant programs to reintroduce native species, such as the iconic American Chestnut. While current policies focus on protecting existing species, there are few pathways for actively restoring species that were once part of our landscapes.

• Implement a liability shield for non-governmental organizations to voluntarily remove invasive species. Encouraging voluntary engagement in landscape conservation is critical, and protecting these organizations from liability removes a key barrier to their participation.

Managing Precious Water Resources

Finally, conservation cannot be separated from water security. The Colorado River Basin is experiencing some of the lowest snowpack levels on record, and iconic ecosystems like the Great Salt Lake face unprecedented challenges, drawing national attention from President Trump, who vowed to “Make the Lake Great Again.” Ensuring long-term ecological and economic stability in these drought-prone areas requires embracing innovative solutions, fostering strong partnerships, and promoting resilient ecosystems. Specifically, policymakers should consider the following:

• Unlock the use of existing funding for the most innovative water management technologies, such as cloud seeding, by directing federal support toward reviewing and integrating cutting-edge approaches within existing water programs to address drought nationwide. Technologies like cloud seeding are already being used in states such as Utah to increase precipitation and enhance water availability.

• Advance the full authorization and funding of programs aimed at restoring and protecting America’s major watersheds, including the Chesapeake Bay, Ohio River Basin, Delaware River, Long Island Sound, the Great Lakes, the Upper Price River, and key estuary systems.

• Extend the Bureau of Reclamation’s pilot program funding voluntary water conservation projects in the Colorado River Basin, supporting local stakeholders in reducing water use, enhancing drought resilience, and protecting critical ecosystems across the basin.

• Provide adequate funding to address the challenges facing the Colorado River Basin and the Great Salt Lake. These iconic landscapes are under unprecedented stress from drought, declining water levels, and ecological disruption. While these challenges are not insurmountable, protecting and restoring them will require sustained investments in water conservation, ecosystem restoration, and strategies that strengthen resilience to ongoing drought pressures.

It is my hope and belief that “Make America Beautiful Again” is evolving beyond a one-time executive order into a generational call to action. My generation of conservatives believes in real, tangible conservation, advancing toward a vision of patriotic stewardship with pro-human abundance. This vision requires the durability only Congress can provide to ensure that MABA’s impact on American lands is more than a single-administration project. We cannot afford for conservation priorities to live and die by executive pen. It is time they are written into law.

Chris Barnard is the president of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC) and our sister organization, ACC Action.