On March 31, we gathered in protest because the future of endangered species should not be decided behind closed doors. For the first time in more than 30 years, the Trump administration convened the Endangered Species Committee, often called the “God Squad,” to grant a sweeping exemption from the Endangered Species Act for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Endangered Species Act has been one of the strongest and most effective laws in the United States for preventing extinction. It has helped protect species on the brink and preserve the habitats that sustain life. Our March 31 protest was about defending that legacy and reminding the public that wildlife protection is not optional. It is a responsibility.
But this gathering was about more than resistance. It was also about vision.
It was about standing up for a future in which communities, not just corporations or political insiders, have a voice in decisions that shape the natural world.
We were honored to be joined by Karyn Bigelow, Director of Programs and Advocacy at the Next 100 Coalition and former Co-Executive Director at Creation Justice Ministries. At Next 100, Karyn works toward a vision of thriving, healthy, nature-grounded communities for the next 100 years and beyond.
Her leadership also reflects the power of broad coalition work. The movement to protect endangered species is strongest when it includes advocates from across sectors and communities, people who understand that conservation must be grounded not only in science, but also in justice, care, and shared responsibility.
We are grateful to Karyn Bigelow for standing with us on March 31 and for helping to frame this moment with both urgency and hope.
Full remarks from Karyn Bigelow are below:
“Thank you so much for having me this morning. I am here on the behalf of the Next 100 Coalition to share our opposition to this proposed exemption to the Endangered Species Act.
The Next 100 Coalition is a national organization dedicated to advancing a collaborative movement to tackle the greatest environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.
For too long industries have viewed the Southeast of the U.S. and the gulf of Mexico through the narrow lens of what they can take from it. What they can take from our environment. And what they can take from our communities. They don’t see the Gulf of Mexico as living ecosystems that’s home to over 15k of species–including over 20 endangered species.
They don’t see it as a place that needs protecting. Instead they see a map of the Gulf as a grid of “blocks” to be leased, drilled, and bled dry.
This “God Squad” meeting is the ultimate expression of arrogance—the idea that a few officials in a room can permanently sign away the future of species to pad the profits of an industry that is already fueling the collapse of our natural environments, communities’ way of life, and the health of this generation and the next.
A healthy ocean in the Gulf of Mexico is not a luxury–it is part of our life support system that provides oxygen, food security, and recreation to many. And for many communities, it is a cathedral—a place of deep spiritual and cultural connection that predates any oil company by Millennia.
These beautiful and important ecosystems include the very endangered species that are further at threat today from the so-called “God-squad.”
For years, the Next 100 Coalition has advocated for ocean justice. One thing that is clear from the communities we are all accountable to, is that ocean justice is inclusive of nature and cultures, which are inextricably linked. It is a fundamental unfairness of asking frontline communities to once again bear the risk of a catastrophic spill or a dying ecosystem, while the rewards flow to boardrooms a thousand miles away. We have already seen the devastating effects that an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can do to marine species and the local economies.
To grant a permanent exemption to Big Oil is to tell these communities that their heritage, their livelihoods, and their safety do not matter.
We are told we need this exemption for “security.” But true security does not come from more pipelines that leak. True security does not come from more carbon that warms our waters. True security comes from resilient coastlines that can withstand the storms of a changing climate.
True security comes from biodiverse waters where ecosystems are whole. True security comes from economic sovereignty for communities, rooted in sustainable businesses, not the boom-and-bust cycle of fossil fuels.
There are choices that have to be made. We choose the over 1600 species that are endangered and threatened. We choose the thousands of communities and millions of people who depend on healthy ocean ecosystems. We choose the cultures that have stewarded the Gulf for centuries. We choose the Endangered Species Act.
And we urge the “God Squad’ to choose to not play god at this moment. Do not grant this exemption. Our ocean is not for sale. Our communities are not for sale. And the life within them is not “expendable.”
Let me say as a Christian, who has worked with multiple colleagues here today in faith-based organizing. Anytime in the Bible that we see destruction on the land, it is always tied to and a reflection of human sin. This is no different. We are seeing the sins of greed, pride, and hate towards our neighbors. And we can never tolerate sin over creation and love for our neighbors–both human and non-human. The God Squad has no divine right to take away what they did not create.
I will finish this speech with a simple reminder saying of the original movement that fought for the Endangered Species Act: “Extinction is forever.”
Thank you.”