Nearly a month into Donald Trump’s presidency, a number of executive orders have changed the landscape for nonprofit organizations across the country. Here in Walla Walla, the new federal administration has already impacted several organizations focused on conservation, sustainability and fighting climate change.
Amongst the most worrisome of Trump’s executive actions is the federal funding freeze, which directs all federal agencies to halt much of their activity related to finance and dispersion of grants and awards. The order is already facing heavy legal challenges, but it is causing confusion and leading to changes in how nonprofits plan.
Renee Hadley, district manager of the Walla Walla County Conservation District, noted that very little can be done until a full picture of the impacts is understood.
“We don’t know what the true implications, conservation-wise, will be for a couple of weeks,” Hadley said.
Amanda Martino, executive director of Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT), which leads conservation work in the area, discussed how the federal freeze is impacting the organization’s grant funding. She noted that one of the federal grants the organization had been awarded has been put on hold.
“We’ve been told to pause and not continue working on [one] grant because the EPA is unsure about the funding for that program,” Martino said.
This grant, which was meant to last for five years, could have long lasting impacts on BLMT and their ability to work with other organizations. Although the freeze could be halted by a judge, the uncertainty is already having local impacts in the Walla Walla area. Martino also noted that there were a number of other worries, albeit less direct.
“With the inflation reduction (IRA) and infrastructure act bills there was an infusion of funding into some of the programs that we utilize, so we had applied for funding for a number of agricultural conservation projects, directly for conservation easements and to protect farms in the Blue Mountains. Those agencies have now basically told everybody that they don’t believe they will have the IRA money to fund projects… We won’t know for sure yet, but the potential is that some of our projects that would have gotten funded may not get funding,” Martino said.
Other Walla Walla area organizations are facing similar challenges. Erendira Cruz, executive director of the Sustainable Living Center (SLC), discussed the ways the organization might be impacted.
“Our only current Federal funding is through a school district grant where our Farm to School program is a community partner for the 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school program. We don’t know, with 2.5 school years still left in the grant, if this funding is in jeopardy,” Cruz said in an email to The Wire.
Cruz also noted that the possibility of rescinding IRA funds could impact their work, specifically regarding the energy efficiency program that the SLC manages. Nonetheless, many organizations remain confident in their ability to have a positive impact on conservation in the area.
Brian Burns, executive director of the Tri-State Steelheaders, doesn’t receive federal grants, although some state grants that they receive are federal in origin. Burns is self-assured in his organization’s ability to fulfill their local mission, and he’s advised staff that he doesn’t see impacts from the federal administration in the short and medium term, although reductions in federal funding could have long-term negative impacts.
When asked about how Congressman Michael Baumgartner, who represents eastern Washington and is unsupportive of dam removal, might impact the Tri-State Steelheaders, Burns also remained confident. Although the new federal administration, which Baumgartner is aligned with, is often at odds with conservation, Burns indicated that political division is not the focus of their work.
“Our mission is based on the recovery of ESA-listed fish in our region. Our habitat projects are based in science, designed by professionals, and are vetted by local and state grant programs. Our projects are also subject to permitting from federal agencies — Corps of Engineers, NOAA Fisheries and US Fish & Wildlife Service,” Burns said.
Martino also steered away from understanding BLMT’s work through a conservative and liberal divide. Although this work is inherently political, Martino indicated that building coalitions beyond political lines is essential.
“It’s hard to see the focus shifting back towards natural resource extraction and fossil fuel production instead of continuing to move us towards more sustainable ways of doing things… But I think because we’ve always been able to work with folks on either side of the aisle there’s some ability for us to keep doing our work,” Martino said.
In a community with varying political ideologies, these approaches seem essential. Thus, despite federal changes, most organizations reaffirmed their commitment to the local work they’ve always done.
“Our work is in the watersheds that are tributaries to the Columbia and Snake Rivers, where our action can have real impact,” Burns said.
Hadley also brought up the relevance of local efforts when we spoke. She noted that national political decisions will always have influence, but that trying to predict them is often difficult.
“You can’t plan for any and all issues that may occur, whether they are state, local, federal or tribal. You have to adapt,” Hadley said.
Adaptation was a common thread amongst local organizations, yet different people saw their ability to plan differently. Both Hadley and Martino saw their work as necessarily reactive, but nobody seemed willing to back down to a federal government that might put their work at risk. Emphasizing local impacts seemed central to this attitude, especially for Cruz.
“Our organization will continue to work at the local level to fulfill our mission to conserve resources for the future by encouraging and facilitating sustainable living practices in our community,” Cruz said.
For these reasons, Walla Walla area organizations focused on conservation are poised to continue their essential service, despite changes related to federal funding. However, because Walla Walla is a major area for agricultural production, many local organizations brought up the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other farming impacts as an additional concern.
“The impact on the federal workforce is really going to impact the capacity of our partners,” Martino said. “The forest service will not be able to hire any seasonal staff… So that just means that there are fewer staff to help with managing trails.”
BLMT runs a trail upkeep program called Blue’s Crew, which partners with the Forest Service and therefore the USDA. Yet there are other impacts more closely related to farmers. Halting USDA funding directly hurts farmers, many of whom are partners with organizations like BMLT and the SLC.
These concerns broadly speak to the idea that nonprofit organizations lean on federal, state, and local governments, private landowners and other private entities. When their work or livelihoods change, indirect impacts fall on nonprofit organizations and weaken community structures.
“It’s a little bit of a wait-and-see game and the biggest challenge for us has been the lack of consistent communication. There’s federal announcements from the administration, but then individual agencies are getting different directives; different programs have their pots of money coming from different sources and we get a lot of different answers,” Martino said.
“A recent Farm to School grant proposal submitted to the USDA is on hold. USDA Farm to School funds could potentially be cut, but we don’t know,” Cruz said.
Both responses also speak to a broader concern regarding inconsistent communication. While organizations figure out the best ways to continue with their nonprofit mission, many are being left without answers, forcing them to put certain projects on hold, or communicate to community members that certain services might not be available.
Yet, while different organizations respond in different ways, they all seem to be functioning under the idea that their work will continue, remaining confident in the value that it has in the Walla Walla area. The hope that the community can come together, now more than ever, was present in many responses, showing that local support can overcome federal limits on important conservation work.
As Hadley and others noted, time will tell what kinds of long-term impacts the Trump administration will have on local organizations, but confidence and commitment will remain at the heart of essential conservation work led by numerous nonprofit organizations.
