On July 3, United States President Donald Trump issued an executive order to establish the Make America Beautiful Again Commission. The commission’s mission is to “prioritize conserving our great American national parks and outdoor recreation areas,” such as expanding access to public lands for recreational use including off-roading.

Section 4 of the order outlines five primary goals:

The Commission shall advise and assist the President regarding how best to responsibly conserve America’s national treasures and natural resources, including by:

(a) monitoring the implementation of this order and facilitating interagency coordination on conservation efforts;

(b) providing to the President actionable recommendations for improving conservation efforts;

(c) developing policies to recover fish and wildlife populations through collaboration rather than regulation, including policies involving coordination with State wildlife agencies;

(d) recommending to the President solutions to expand access to clean drinking water and restore aquatic ecosystems to improve water quality and availability; and

(e) developing policies to expand access to public lands, national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges while promoting a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities like hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, boating, off-roading, and wildlife viewing.

The commission will be chaired by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, while presidential domestic policy assistant Vince Haley is executive director. Other administration officials on the commission include the Secretary of Defense (Pete Hegseth), Secretary of Agriculture (Brooke Rollins), Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (Lee Zeldin), Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Russell Vought), and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (Stephen Miran). Susie Wiles and Kevin Hassett are also involved as the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, respectively. Burgum and Haley can also appoint “other members of my Administration” to join.

Public lands have been a hot-button issue since summer began. Utah Senator and Trump ally Mike Lee attempted to add a provision to the Senate reconciliation bill that would have put millions of acres of federally owned land for sale. While the proposal was ostensibly to promote building housing, its overly broad scope and Lee’s reputation led to bipartisan condemnation before it was rejected by the Senate parliamentarian and withdrawn. The bill, nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, passed primarily on party lines without much mention of public land and signed into law by the president on July 4.

Separate from the bill, the Make America Beautiful Commission addresses public lands in what, by the letter of the law, is a more moderate take on the topic. The order primarily focuses on preserving such land and reduce the red tape surrounding it.

The Off-Road Business Association, one of the major names from the off-road lobby, lauded the commission as a “major step forward” for public land access and expressed hope to be represented in it.

“This executive order sends a strong message: public lands belong to the people,” said ORBA CEO Fred Wiley. “For too long, our community has faced unnecessary restrictions, deferred maintenance, and bureaucratic delays. This policy recognizes what we’ve always known: off-road recreation is not a threat to conservation. It’s a partner.

“Off-road businesses are economic engines in rural America. This EO gives our community a seat at the table. We intend to use it.”

Others, particularly Trump opponents, are skeptical about the commission’s intentions and express worry it would lead to environmentally unfriendly business practices like oil drilling and logging. For example, the administration had lifted restrictions on mining and drilling in Nevada and New Mexico in April. The Alt National Park Service, an anti-Trump online coalition purportedly consisting of federal employees from the aforementioned agencies, said it “may sound harmless, or even beneficial, but beneath the surface, it represents a major threat to public lands.”

Besides the risk of industrial development, AltNPS stated “the commission’s focus on outdoor recreation raises red flags. While promoting activities like hiking and biking sounds positive, it’s a front for justifying new roads, motorized vehicle access, and infrastructure development that can fracture ecosystems and invite more commercial exploitation. The use of public access rhetoric to dilute conservation efforts is a form of greenwashing, one that prioritizes convenience and profit over ecological health.”

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