An order by President Trump would open vulnerable areas of the ocean, including waters off of the New England coast, to future oil-and-gas leasing. Photo: Sydney Moyer
June 17, 2025 (Boston, MA) – Continuing its decades-long protection of New England’s waters from oil and gas drilling, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has joined Earthjustice and other groups in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The lawsuit challenges an order by President Trump that would open vulnerable areas of the ocean to future oil-and-gas leasing.
“Opening the Atlantic to oil and gas drilling is a reckless gamble with our environment, economy, and public health,” said CLF Senior Counsel Erica Fuller. “The risks of catastrophic oil spills, harm to marine life, and the destruction of vital ecosystems are too great to ignore. CLF has stood against oil and gas drilling on George’s Bank since the 1970s, and we will continue to fight tooth and nail to stop this dangerous and shortsighted move.”
The case, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, et al. v. Trump et al., challenges President Trump’s order to revoke President Biden’s protections for vulnerable ocean areas. Biden used the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to safeguard regions off the Eastern Gulf, Atlantic, Pacific, and Alaska coasts. This law allows presidents to withdraw offshore areas from oil and gas leasing, a power used by eight administrations, including Trump’s first. However, it does not permit a president to undo previous withdrawals, as a federal court confirmed when Trump attempted to reverse President Obama’s protections for the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
Earthjustice is representing CLF, as well as Oceana, Center for Biological Diversity, Surfrider Foundation, Greenpeace, Healthy Gulf, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Alaska Wilderness League, and Turtle Island Restoration Network. Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council are also plaintiffs.
The original lawsuit was filed in February. An amended complaint adding more plaintiffs, including CLF, was filed on June 16, 2025.
The amended complaint can be found here.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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