A bit of a rant about the movement

For years, certain mainstream groups in the nonprofit conservation movement have turned up their noses at organizations under the same umbrella that were more aggressive in their defense of our natural treasures, i.e. the groups that file lawsuits, advocate vociferously in legislatures, and engage in public protests. They looked down at these peer groups for not being bipartisan, cooperative, or even polite, even while they admitted behind closed doors that they play a vital role in garnering important protections.

It’s sad to see these same mainstream groups cowering before the Trump Administration, silent as the departments of Commerce, Interior, and Environmental Protection dismember decades of progress. And there’s a sad irony that many of these groups at least feigned some level of advocacy during the Biden Administration, which was infinitely more friendly to the cause--now obviously just because it was safe to do so.

But the saddest aspect of it all is that those groups that have always stood strong–in court, the halls of Congress, in the streets–are still out there, fighting it alone, against increasingly long odds. Meanwhile, their big mainstream colleagues stand mostly silent, lying to their donors about being relevant, praying that Trump’s gaze doesn’t fall on them. You can still occasionally hear them talking smack about their more pugilistic peers but still quietly hoping that they somehow succeed in protecting mountains of incremental progress of the the entire movement.

Every one of these big groups has an origin story, usually celebrated on its website, where a handful of people with meager resources stood up against impossible odds and won a great victory. It’s shameful that many of these same organizations, now with many thousands of members and vast resources, are unwilling to muster the same passion for their cause. What are they saving it all for? Maybe they should look at some of those black-and-white photos and listen for the message in the eyes of those long-deceased pioneers of the movement: the fight is now.