Trump’s USDA tried to erase climate data. This lawsuit forced it back online.

The United States Department of Agriculture says it will restore climate-related information on its websites following a lawsuit filed earlier this year by agriculture and environmental groups that say farmers rely heavily on these critical guidance to adapt to warming temperatures In January following President Donald Trump s inauguration the USDA s communications office instructed employees to identify and archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on context change and flag other pages that mention conditions for review a program first broadcasted by Politico The following month the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York or NOFA-NY joined the Natural Information Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group in suing the agency to republish the pages which included information about federal loans for farmers and an interactive circumstances map This week the USDA filed a letter to a U S district judge in the Southern District of New York saying that it will restore the climate-change-related web content that was removed post-inauguration including all USDA web pages and interactive tools enumerated in plaintiffs complaint The agency noted it would also comply with federal laws with respect to future publication or posting decisions involving the scrubbed situation information The letter came days before a hearing regarding the plaintiffs move for a preliminary injunction was scheduled to take place NOFA-NY an organization that advocates for sustainable food systems and assists growers with adopting organic farming practices called the USDA s about-face a big win for its members I have to say that for as much as farmers have been through in the past couple of months this felt really good explained Marcie Craig the association s executive director NOFA-NY and the other plaintiffs are represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University The fact that the USDA agreed to restore its surroundings information online without a court order and before the scheduled hearing reinforces what we knew all along disclosed Earthjustice associate attorney Jeff Stein which is that the purge of environment change-related web pages is blatantly unlawful The evolution marks a rare moment of optimism for U S growers who have faced numerous setbacks from the Trump administration Since January the administration has sent shockwaves through the agricultural sector as it paused federal grant and loan programs that supported local and regional food systems and farmers surroundings resiliency efforts The administration also froze funding for rural clean ability programs only to unfreeze it with caveats creating headaches and financial stress for growers Federal funding cuts have also threatened the status of agricultural research including projects designed to boost sustainability in the face of state change In the face of these roadblocks Craig noted that her optimism tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism I think we all bear a level of cautious optimism about what truly comes to fruition on this action she announced As of Thursday the USDA has restored pages about the Inflation Reduction Act and rural clean potential programs while other pages remain offline according to Earthjustice But Craig agreed with Stein that the USDA s decision to restore materials that help farmers adapt to situation change without a hearing or court order is a positive sign The purge of conditions web pages along with the federal funding freezes have been crippling for farmers stated Craig NOFA-NY staff often responded to growers questions by sharing the USDA s online support One particularly helpful tool explained Craig was a page about loans for climate-smart agriculture or farming practices that help sequester carbon or reduce emissions on the website of the Farmers Utility Agency a subagency of the USDA The page included a chart that listed the practical and environmental benefits of different climate-smart agriculture techniques as well as federal funding opportunities to help farmers implement these practices It was a really great example of very specific clear information on context adaptation very user-friendly disclosed Craig Even if those funding sources were technically still available to farmers this winter and spring the fact that web pages referring to those grants and loans were scrubbed made them inaccessible she added A insufficient days before the USDA filed its letter to the judge the agency had alerted the plaintiffs lawyers of its decision to reupload its weather records according to Stein In its letter on Monday the USDA mentioned majority of of the content should be back online over the class of the following two weeks the department also committed to filing a joint status description with Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute in three weeks to update the court on its progress The hearing that the USDA and the plaintiffs were set to attend later this month has been adjourned But Stein reported the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction which if granted by a judge would have ordered the USDA to put back up its climate-related web pages is still pending That means that should the USDA not make progress toward republishing its situation tools online over the next scarce weeks the plaintiffs have another way to push their demands forward We want to make sure that USDA in fact follows through on its commitment commented Stein This article originally appeared in Grist Editor s note Earthjustice and the Natural Materials Defense Council are advertisers with Grist Advertisers have no role in Grist s editorial decisions The post Trump s USDA tried to erase state evidence This lawsuit forced it back online appeared first on MinnPost