WE Are The Lorax

One day, I too will speak for me

I woke up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago to a looping thought:

The Lorax speaks for the trees. Who will speak for me?

I recognized the energetic force of creativity had awoken me. Grabbing my laptop, I followed the invitation and reflected on some favorite childhood books- The Lorax and The Giving Tree. What arose was foreboding, circling the continual and increasing harms to the natural world.

The absence of breeze and the stark absence of the sound of rustling leaves. A tree no longer aching toward the sun.

The theme spoke to a deep fear. When we stop fighting for the trees, so much beauty we take for granted will cease to exist. Other natural resources sure to follow. Clean air. Clean water. The last line I wrote that night had a hint of hope:

I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. One day, I too will speak for me.

One day is TODAY. There is no time to wait. The forests, wildlife, and humans alike (i.e., you, your friends and family, every future generation) who inhabit this earth will be impacted by decisions being made by those who choose profit today over a habitable planet tomorrow.

Following some sparks from the universe, I reached out to Mesa Fama proposing a collaboration post here on I Dissent. I had been writing a personal essay inspired by those midnight musings, blending research I had been doing on my late grandfather’s activism in the 90’s, and my own experiences traveling the country in 2023. That evolved into this plea. We must speak for the trees.

**Image Caption- Popular alt NPS. post of a page from The Lorax, “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. Come for the forests, and I’ll break your f*cking knees.” Edited further to include my grandfather (Earth First! environmental activist, curmudgeon, and typewriter enthusiast) who would have wholeheartedly shared these sentiments. Original creator credit unknown.

**Alt Text- The Lorax, an orange furry creature standing on a stump looking at viewer, three Truffula trees in orange, yellow and pink; and a grey bearded white man sitting at a desk typing on a blue typewriter. Text reads: “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. Come for the forests, and I’ll break your f*cking knees.”

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Mesa recently posed the question- “What red line will be the line where people will finally say enough is enough.”

Amidst the ceaseless assault on civil liberties, funding cuts, and uncertainty and fear among the masses, it IS IMPOSSIBLE for any individual to keep up with everything that violates each cause close to our hearts. Beyond that is the question of what to do when one of your many lines is crossed.

Why is The Lorax Breaking Knees?

If the Lorax graphic caught your attention, I may have bumped up against your line.

Many folks feel a sense of pride in the treasures we know as the 63 US National Parks. There is most likely a national park or monument visit on many American’s bucket lists, as they are places considered to be open to all, presumably for eternity.

For me it started with two parks on my bucket list during the initial stages of planning a 2023 solo cross-country roadtrip (i.e., Redwood National Park and Yellowstone National Park). The more I researched, I realized I was completely unaware of what was available to explore within the continental US. My route was suddenly dotted with more and more National Parks and I wound up visiting 20 that year along with National Monuments, and countless National Forests. I fell even more in love with the wildlife protected within their borders, tears streaming the first time I heard the collective howl of a wolf pack. I was hooked and my bucket list grew. High on the current list is seeing fresh pink baby whales on Channel Islands; paddling by day and stargazing in the protected dark skies of Voyageurs; and watching grizzlies bulk up on salmon in Katmai.

I never expected the places I explored and the ones I’ve yet to visit would be at imminent risk. My access is at risk, yes. The places themselves too. National Parks fall into what is recognized and managed as ‘public lands.’ Public lands include parks, monuments, parkways, forests, refuges, waterways, conservation areas, shorelines, and wilderness areas. They are managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) under the following (primarily federal) agencies: The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, The United States Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service; with minimal public lands managed by State and Local Government.

If you have ever had (or hope to have) a valuable experience on public land, I’ve summarized why recent government actions are relevant to you. YOU includes those who enjoy birding, hiking, camping, climbing, biking, scenic drives, or simply trusting that one day you will be able to visit a beautiful landscape (insert YOUR bucket list item here).

What’s Happening With Public Lands?

**Image Caption- Image created and shared for on my social media to bring awareness to folks about a presidential order for mass logging

**Alt Text- Mountain sunset overlaid with an outline of the US in dark grey, with three pink cutouts of the state of California. Text in bubble reads: 113 Million Hectares = CA x3. Upper text block reads: "Trump's order will unleash the chainsaws and bulldozers on our federal forests. Clearcutting these beautiful places will increase fire risk, drive species to extinction, pollute our rivers and streams, and destroy world-class recreation sites," said Randi Spivak, public lands policy director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "This is a particularly horrific move by Trump to loot our public lands by handing the keys to big business." -The Guardian. Lower text block reads: see through the calculated lies- mass expansion of logging will not make anyone safer- especially in the wake of firing ~3,400 forest service employees with ~7,000 more layoffs coming.

Over the last few weeks, there have been a number of decisions made at a governmental level that directly impact the future of public lands. Those decisions threaten more than bare minimum access to those lands. If unimpeded, the quick and long-lasting environmental impacts will directly impact human quality of life.

The image above references the 3/1/25 Presidential Executive Order (EO) calling for a drastic increase in logging on public lands. I’ve included the language of the EO for you to read below, as it contains illuminating examples of the ways information (and misinformation) is being used to convince the public that extreme changes will benefit them directly.

“Section 1. Purpose. The production of timber, lumber, paper, bioenergy, and other wood products (timber production) is critical to our Nation’s well-being. Timber production is essential for crucial human activities like construction and energy production. Furthermore, as recent disasters demonstrate, forest management and wildfire risk reduction projects can save American lives and communities.

The United States has an abundance of timber resources that are more than adequate to meet our domestic timber production needs, but heavy-handed Federal policies have prevented full utilization of these resources and made us reliant on foreign producers. Our inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply has impeded the creation of jobs and prosperity, contributed to wildfire disasters, degraded fish and wildlife habitats, increased the cost of construction and energy, and threatened our economic security. These onerous Federal policies have forced our Nation to rely upon imported lumber, thus exporting jobs and prosperity and compromising our self-reliance. It is vital that we reverse these policies and increase domestic timber production to protect our national and economic security.”

I know a bit about the importance of preserving our forests, so I couldn’t make sense of what I was reading the first time through. I began fact checking everything, from my own bias, the existing data and research, and the information supplied in the EO. What I found helped me understand the strategies this administration is utilizing to convince the general public that OUR best interests are supported by these mass scale changes.

What I Noticed & Why It’s Working:

Leveraging Fear:

The language leverages VERY real fear that without drastic changes, we are missing an opportunity to save the plummeting economy, reduce wildfires and loss of wildlife. A particularly cruel tactic so soon after LA’s devastation by January wildfires filled news headlines for weeks. Those communities are still early in the process of rebuilding.

An alarming accusation is associated with “save American lives and communities.” So if I oppose this EO, I must be both inhumane and un-American? Yikes! That kind of accusation has the power to dissuade even those who deeply care from speaking out or acting in opposition to the voices in power.

Forest management of public lands is an existing path to decreasing the intensity, spread and devastation of wildfires. There is a difference between responsible land/forest management and clearcut logging. An order to log 113 hectares= clearcut logging. Indigenous land management practices including cultural (prescribed) burns to systematically clear flammable brush and other plant matter, were already being utilized. Since 2021, The Forest Service has been the responsible body prescribed burns as land management on a larger scale.

If reducing wildfires were a priority as suggested by the EO, firing ~3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees two weeks before the logging EO surely wouldn’t be a logical way to avoid wildfire disasters. Nor would the administration’s plan to enact an additional ~7,000 layoffs and forced early retirements of Forest Service employees. Less Forest Service employees= less wildfire prevention efforts AND less firefighting capabilities.

False Promises:

For folks who are primarily concerned with economic impact, “…inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply has impeded the creation of jobs and prosperity” sounds promising. What isn’t specified is how (and how unlikely) selling public lands to the for-profit logging industry will benefit the economy at large. If used to fund the Sovereign Wealth Fund, the average US citizen will not benefit. The billionaires? Definitely. The rest of us who are struggling to afford groceries, are at risk for losing access to healthcare, social security, and more, are scared.

Misinformation:

The EO in combination with statements by administration representatives, infer that increased logging could have saved the lives, homes, and businesses in LA. While the precise factors that combined in exact set of conditions resulting in the historic LA fires is still being studied, one thing is clear: Climate change contributed to multiple factors.

Summer, @climatediva on instagram did a fantastic job helping me understand the historic intensity of the LA wildfires. In summary:

• The current invasive species in the landscape haven’t evolved to be fire resistant. They are drier and make for fuel for the fires.

• “Weather whiplash” where this year there was no rain in the ‘rainy season’ versus the year before that had heavy rainfall. A product of climate change.

• Hurricane force winds spreading the fire faster than could be controlled. The climate crisis is destabilizing the jet-stream from which the Santa Ana winds were blowing.

• “Wildland Urban Interface” which translates to land being developed where wildfires historically and predictably will continue to occur. The homes in those areas are then at risk.

Finally there is the false assertion that the existing barriers to logging are responsible for degraded fish and wildlife habitats. Large scale, for-profit extraction of trees (i.e., clearcut logging) is a known cause of degraded fish and wildlife habitats.

Why Does It Matter?

Aside from deforestation, clear-cutting directly accelerates climate change, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, landslides and contamination of our water supplies. Most of us fall into the 97% of US residents who rely on publicly managed safe drinking water sources. You may have heard of Flint, Michigan and their lead contaminated water crisis, issue known as ‘water insecurity.’ It’s more common than news headlines let on. Today Native reservations are disproportionately experiencing water insecurity. It will be an issue for the general public should we fail to intervene.

If that isn’t alarming enough, I’d bet we collectively oppose decisions that impact the air we all require to breathe.

The above logging EO is one of many rapid decisions, changes, and funding cuts occurring at alarming rates. Truthfully, this newsletter has been incredibly difficult to draft because despite my vested interest, I can’t keep up with every relevant update I had the urge include. Here are somerelated happenings:

💸 Imposing Spending Limits to $1 was imposed on all National Park and Department of Interior employees. This prohibited parks from acquiring even the most basic necessities such as toilet paper. If it’s the economy they are worried about, I wonder how this will impact the 26.4 billion in spending associated with 2023 National Park visitors.

🏞️ Reducing park amenities, including plans to close at least 8 National Park visitor centers. “The Trump administration is seeking to cancel the leases for 34 National Park Service buildings, including visitor centers, law enforcement offices and museums that house millions of artifacts.”

🛢️ Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) funding interruptions. This includes programs to address climate change and even recycling. While judges have intervened in many cases, some EPA funded programs are unable to operate without access to resources being held up in long court delays .

❌ Dismantling the systems in place and circumventing regulations that require environmental impact to be studied before approving infrastructure or energy projects.. I would love to know the estimated environmental impact of logging 113 hectares of forest well before that project is underway.

🌎 Committed to denial of climate change, funding has been cut for any research related to the climate crisis. This is one of many topics the administration is opposed to and whether formally or informally, The National Institute of Health will no longer be able to research health effects of climate.

📚 In an EO impacting the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it is understood that federal funding for libraries and museums is on the chopping block. Access to information whether through public or school libraries, is imperative for an educated public. “Today, the agency funds 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries across the country, according to the ALA press release.”

👩🏽‍⚖️ If you find yourself thinking that the ‘checks and balances’ of democracy will prevail, I ask you to consider an alternative. One supported by a recent assertion of power when the administration refused to comply with a court order by James Boasberg, chief judge of the Washington, D.C., District Court, to turn around planes filled with Venezuelan migrants being deported without due process to El Salvador. “The next day, Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached, calling him a “radical left lunatic”. House Republicans then introduced a measure to impeach Boasberg and 4 others. Inciting revenge on those who dissent weakens the purpose and efficacy of the judicial branch, setting an incredibly dangerous precedent. When we allow due process to become conditional, we become the frogs unwittingly swimming, then dying in water rapidly approaching a boil point. The administration is making us comfortable by first targeting folks most easily painted as (and assumed to be) criminals. It does NOT stop there. History repeats itself until it doesn’t. As seen with Mark Rubio revoking visas of 300 international students and deeming them ‘lunatics,’ in response to global attention following news of several their arrests. Again, without due process, asserting that as little as expressing support for Palestine (exercising civil liberties like freedom of speech) equates to ‘supporting terrorism.’

The momentum is strong and irreparable harm is occurring as we speak. This is not a test. This is not an overdramatic hypothesis. This is a strategic and systematic assertion of power built on lies. This is tyranny.

What Can We Do?

Truthfully, I’m not certain. What I am committed to sharing here is what has made engaging in small intentional acts of resistance possible for me. I don’t believe that there is a right form of resistance. If there were, we wouldn’t be in this scenario.

Current barriers to activism span from maxed out emotional capacity and hopelessness to safety and legal risks. There are many choices and it is up to you to decide what you do, how you do it, and the risks you are willing to take in doing so.

So what are some options?

I most often hear “call your reps!” and Mesa made a valid point that it is possible we’ve collectively overestimated the actual impact of contacting and urging our elected representatives to make decisions that reflect the positions of their constituents. I’ve heard some social justice educators and activists suggest that in-person protests are an ineffective use of time and resources or that economic boycotts don’t work. There will always be arguments for and against specific actions.

One teaching that sticks with me when I’m feeling stuck is that perfectionism is a tool of the oppressors. If I wait to act until I’m certain I’ve chosen ‘the right’ form of resistance, it is often too late. If I wait until I am confident my actions will have the intended impact, it is often too late. If I attempt to learn all of the relevant information on a certain issue before sharing what I know, it often too late. If I succumb to the fear that I’ll receive critical feedback about how I’ve engaged in activism, I will swim in inertia and IT IS OFTEN TOO LATE.

When perfectionism shows up, I remind myself that I haven’t encountered anyone recommending that others STOP engaging in activism. I’ve seen invitations to learn more and try again. This means I have to be willing to do just that. My actions are informed by acceptance of known risks while doing the best I can with what I know, plus guiding future choices with anything I learn along the way (#BlackoutTuesday anybody?).

Then we have this recent example of a much needed victory when a combination of in-person protests and judiciary intervention contributed to The Park Service reinstating all 1000 probationary park staff who had previously been fired, including rangers, law enforcement, and firefighters.

What Am I Doing?

While I can’t direct you to a ‘right form of resistance’ or guarantee outcomes of any individual or collective action, I will share that the only way I am able to get out of bed each day and do anything is to choose delusional hope. I choose to believe in the cumulative power of our many something(s).

The following are ways I imperfectlyresist:

• Following guidance and learning from those who are most impacted by harmful systems. Folks with marginalized identities have and will continue to be at the center of activism. I’ve invested in learning from folks who utilize platforms such as Patreon to share their knowledge. I learn best when that information is presented from combination of lived experience perspective, research, and/or ancestral knowledge. These folks aren’t new to the art of dissent. They exist in bodies, families, and communities that have been subject to discrimination, intimate with the fight for equity. It is with intention that I haven’t included a list of recommended activists and educators here, as one educator illuminated the historical dangers of compiling lists of dissenters (especially with a punitive, censorship heavy administration in power). I’m happy to provide some options if you reach out to me directly.

• Noticing who in my life shares similar values and a commitment to social justice. I’m intentional about being in regular communication, sometimes sending relevant resources, updates, and opportunities for activism; having hard conversations; and simply spending time together.

• Contacting my elected representatives. Using the 5 calls app, I am able to choose issues I’m concerned about and contact my elected representatives (reps) to share my positions. As an ADHDer who has a bit of phone call avoidance, the app is most accessible for me. I am able to click-to-call the appropriate reps and follow a script whether a live person answers or I get voicemail. Those calls and voicemails get recorded.

• I’m always looking out for social justice events, whether informational or organizing focused, related to injustices I’m passionate about opposing. Most recently, I attended an incredible workshop I discovered via environmental drag queen, Pattie Gonia, by The Outdoorist Oath. “The Oath workshop* is a free ZERO-BS experience that teaches a model to approach allyship for planet, inclusion, adventure.” It was fun, experiential, and helped me identify ways I can combine my existing interests and skills to choose a lane, which happens to be making activism and allyship more accessible to others.

• Looking for inspiration rather than doomscrolling. Have you seen the Bernie + AOC rally footage? I had chills watching a few short clips. All those people gathered in dissent. In Tuscon, AOC distilled my fear and my hope saying “We are here because an extreme concentration of power and corruption is taking over this country like never before. But we are also here because we know that a better world is possible.” When I am really struggling, my favorite thing to do is sourcing information via reading posts by fellow Substack writers. I always have a stash of stacks saved to light a fire under my own butt.

• Dedicating energy to keep up momentum on the projects that keep me fired up. Particularly projects that both align with my values AND stand in opposition to censorship.

• Maintaining a curated social media feed. Yes, when utilized without applying critical thinking, social media is a dangerous place. I’ll likely jump ship at some point because the broligarchy is profiting off my scrolling habit. In the meantime, my feed is filled with wide variety of sources and content I care about. Individuals and organizations who advocate and educate on: accessibility and other disability rights; multiple ongoing genocides; anti-racism and anti-oppression; environmental sustainability; wildlife conservation; and more. If you plan to stay on social media, you can do this by noticing who creates content that matches your interests and learning style. Ask friends where they have found trustworthy info and follow them. Favorite those accounts so you see new posts at the beginning of your scroll. Bookmark recommended articles. Utilize your public library and check out recommended books.

• Speaking of libraries, read banned books! I recently came across a post suggesting relevant banned books to better recognize the current administration’s tactics (and because knowledge is power!). I was thrilled to realize I had read more than half of them already. Depending on your capacity and interests, there are so many options to choose from. Reading children’s books is one of the most beautiful ways I’ve found to tend to my inner child when the world is scary. 📖 If you value learning and public libraries, keep an eye out for a screening of 2025 documentary, THE LIBRARIANS, directed by Kim A. Snyder and produced by Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, and Jana Edelbaum. “As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.”

• Collecting resources on issues I’m most passionate about so that info is readily available to share when folks in my social circle express interest in learning more about a particular topic. As a white woman, I believe my privilege is paired with responsibility to educate folks I’m connected to. When it comes to activism, there is a tendency to outsource the emotional labor and growing pains of newcomers to activism. It is unreasonable to place that burden on those most impacted by the injustices we are fighting. I am able to use what I know and provide the resources I suspect could be best received by the person expressing interest.

• Voting with my dollars by being intentional about spending. There are many resources out there about upcoming economic boycotts and how to utilize our collective spending power to support or withdraw support from organizations who are not aligned with your values.

• Re-centering anything I do around my values of curiosity, compassion, and generosity. I view learning as a lifelong pursuit, reducing the need to know everything before taking any action. I remind myself multiple times a day to veer away from shame and blame, whether that be toward myself (for example, when I fell into perfectionism and took way longer to revise this essay than I intended); or when extending the most generous assumptions I can summon when I can’t understand the motivations or behaviors that perpetuate harm.

Check in time. What (if anything) have I shared that feels the mostdoable for you?

Start there. Resist comparison and perfectionism. Resist shame* about your line or when you hop on the train. When the alarm bells ring inside you, it is your inner compass calling you to action.

*My mental health background insists that I remind you that sometimes we make mistakes in activism. Rupture is one of the only guarantees in life. It is true that impact is more important than intention. AND, when my activism is coming from a well intentioned place, I am better able to receive feedback when I’ve missed the mark. I can acknowledge the knock-knock of shame and move toward humility. REPAIR is available to us all. It is a seldom taught, foundational skill that would drastically improve our interpersonal landscape. More than an apology, repair invites us to acknowledge harm done and show sorry by guiding our future actions based on feedback.

Where to Learn More

If you are like me and learn best when personal experience is woven with a topic of interest, check out part II of this essay over on my stack, Soft Place to Land. I include relevant experiences and information on the history and present connection between public lands and the original Indigenous stewards, water insecurity on Native reservations and a piece of creative nonfiction about my visit to Grand Canyon National Park. You will also find several invitations for quick explorations into your relationship with nature, beliefs about environmental conservation, and a prompt to

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TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read/Summary): I summarize current issues related to public lands; share how I’ve been able to engage in activism alongside by acknowledging persistent overwhelm from the barrage of assaults in an active constitution crisis; choosing one issue at a time based on my values; learning what actions are possible and accessible to me; making a tangible plan; enacting the plan while resisting the temptation to attempt to ‘get my activism right’; instead approaching every action from a place of curiosity, humility, and willingness to engage in repair later.

This isn’t a resistance I’ll be sitting out.

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Land Acknowledgement: This newsletter was written and published on lands sharing geography with the following Indigenous Nations: Clackamas; Umatilla & Walla Walla; Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; and Cayuse. Harm and violence occurred for me to have the privilege to write here today. I thank those who originally and in many cases continue to steward this land in resistance to the continued damage to the lands and and nearby waters via practices and laws maintained by colonizers.

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References:

1

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1042982037871988&set=pb.100064806036542.-2207520000

2

https://www.publiclands.com/blog/a/public-lands-in-the-united-states?srsltid=AfmBOoqd3fidHj0vS4O9fNUoJ4x1bNGeRmm_T1SZr_jzQ-iHgAP75uEN

3

[https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/immediate-expansion-of-american-timber-production/]

4

https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/trump-admin-issues-1-credit-card-limit-nps-employees

5

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm

6

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/mar/06/trump-property-purge-to-include-national-park-visi/

7 https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13032025/epa-freezes-terminates-climate-grants-triggering-lawsuits/

8 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/climate/trump-logging-national-forests.html

9 https://www.dailyclimate.org/trump-administration-moves-to-dismantle-key-environmental-law-2671187819.html

10 https://pen.org/banned-words-list/

11 https://truthout.org/articles/nih-will-no-longer-fund-research-on-the-health-effects-of-climate-change/

12 https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/trump-admin-cuts-library-funding-what-it-means-for-students/2025/03

13 https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-admin-ignores-judges-order-bring-deportation-planes/story?id=119857181

14 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/23/judges-trump-court-rulings

15 https://www.axios.com/2025/03/18/donald-trump-impeach-judge-house-republicans

16 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/24/trump-judges-impeachment-law-doge

17 white supremacy culture by Tema Okun

18 https://www.npca.org/articles/7538-parks-group-welcomes-reinstatement-of-probationary-park-staff-but-warns-of

19 https://www.pattiegonia.net/

20 https://www.outdooristoath.org/

21 https://www.thelibrariansfilm.com/