On January 30, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order terminating the National Nature Assessment, a forthcoming report on the state of America’s land, water, and wildlife. The study, authorized by an executive order signed by former President Biden, was intended to assess the current state of lands, water, and wildlife in the U.S., how they are expected to change, and what that will mean for humans.
The first-of-its-kind report was the result of thousands of hours of work by more than 150 scientists and experts from nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and academia. “The loss of the National Nature Assessment means that we’re losing important information that we need to ensure that nature and people thrive,” said Dr. Phil Levin, the former director of the report. Dr. Levin and other experts who worked on the report are now considering ways to publish it independently, calling the work “too important to die.”