WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following statement was issued by Janis Searles Jones, CEO of Ocean Conservancy, in response to President Trump’s decision to roll back National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) protections:

“The administration’s decision leaves coastal communities without a voice and more at risk to the impacts of climate change.  The new regulations proposed by the Trump administration would decimate the most basic marine environment protections by reducing the type of actions that would trigger environmental reviews and public input, and excluding potential climate impacts from those limited reviews.

“For 50 years, NEPA has provided critical ingredients for protecting our ocean and environment: environmental science and analysis, transparency in government decisions, and the ability for the public to engage. All Americans, including our coastal communities and the millions who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods and businesses, depend on NEPA.

“We cannot afford to go backwards and ignore climate change in decision-making. We must work with local communities to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require federal projects to be resilient to unavoidable climate impacts.

“Ocean Conservancy urges the administration not to take away the public’s voice in decision-making. Instead, we must focus our nation’s efforts on protecting them from the ongoing threat of climate change.”

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Janis Searles Jones is available for interviews upon request.

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.