Ginny Roscamp, ginny.roscamp@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC — The Sierra Club has filed another lawsuit against the Trump Administration for refusing to reveal information, this time related to the Administration’s efforts to erase history on public lands. The Sierra Club seeks to hold the Department of the Interior accountable for its failure to respond to basic Freedom of Information Act requests within the timeline required by law.
On July 31, 2025, the Sierra Club filed its original FOIA requests to the Department of Interior and multiple land bureaus seeking information about the Trump Administration’s attempt to whitewash history on public lands via an executive order from Donald Trump and a secretarial order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The Interior order required a review of signage, websites, and other language used at properties within Interior’s jurisdiction to ensure they did not contain “descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living,” and instead focused on “the greatness of achievements” and “the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.”
To date, Interior has refused to provide the Sierra Club with complete information compliant with these requests, leaving the organization no choice but to file another suit seeking access to the lawfully requested records. The Sierra Club has received information from Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management, but has not received information from Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, or the Secretary of the Interior.
“Interior has a legal obligation to disclose records about its efforts to whitewash history on public lands, yet it continues to delay and withhold information,” said Andrea Issod, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program. “From the responses we have seen so far, the public has made clear they oppose the Trump Administration’s attacks on truth and transparency. If Interior won’t follow the law on its own, we will continue to enforce it in court.”
Sierra Club filed the suit in the Northern District of California federal district court, where the organization is headquartered, to compel the agency’s response to the requests. Sierra Club is represented by Conrad | Metlitzky | Kane LLP and the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program.
Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program (ELP) has ramped up its Freedom of Information Act work in response to actions taken by the second Trump Administration. During Trump’s first Administration, Sierra Club’s ELP FOIA work was crucial in exposing numerous scandals. Most notably, the Sierra Club’s efforts helped lead to the resignation of Trump’s first EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.