Clumsily Cancelled Grants Process Was Retaliatory and Unlawful Say Key Conservation Groups 

Eugene, Ore. – A coalition of nonprofit organizations has filed a lawsuit challenging the  Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful and haphazard cancellation of grants issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and its sub-agencies. The grant cancellations came in concert with a report by the online conservative publication The Daily Caller, which makes clear that the grants were cancelled as part of an unlawful political viewpoint purge, unrelated to the grant-funded activities of the organizations. 

On September 23, 2025, DOI suddenly issued termination notices to organizations advancing conservation work in communities around the country, including the Institute for Applied Ecology, The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP), and the Mid Klamath Watershed Council. The 79 cancelled grant agreements, totaling nearly $14 million, funded important work to protect and manage the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage. Democracy Forward and Tonkon Torp filed a lawsuit on behalf of the three organizations in the U.S. District Court in Oregon today, seeking the court’s help in restoring the grants.

“These terminated agreements were delivering on-the-ground results for land management and conservation, supporting rural communities and the natural world across the West. The Institute for Applied Ecology has partnered with the federal government for a quarter of a century to restore species, recover ecosystems, and deliver resilient landscapes across private and public lands. Through this action, we hope to resume our partnerships with Interior agencies in service to the public and our nation’s lands,” said Keith Norris, Executive Director of the Institute for Applied Ecology.

“The Institute for Bird Populations is a science organization with no political agenda, and our cancelled grants were all centered around providing federal land managers with information about the status and conservation needs of bird populations under their stewardship. We have been a trusted partner of federal land managers for decades, and we just want to be able to continue our work, on behalf of birds and in service to effective management of public lands,” said Rodney Siegel, Executive Director of The Institute for Bird Populations.

“Our communities have worked for decades to proactively and collaboratively manage the Klamath Basin’s ecosystems while supporting local livelihoods. MKWC projects have earned broad support from residents in the rural communities that make up the Mid Klamath region. We also have a long history of bipartisan support for this work from local to federal elected officials. We believe that lasting rural prosperity depends on collaboration across communities, sectors, and political lines, guided by the shared values that unite our region and its people,” said Luna Latimer, Co-Executive Director of the Mid Klamath Watershed Council. 

The complaint explains that, on the same day as the grant terminations were issued in September, DOI coordinated with online publication The Daily Caller to publicize cancelling grants awarded to organizations that were perceived to be espousing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values, or that featured statements recognizing Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants of specific lands on a group’s website. In posts on social media from Interior and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and an online article, administration officials pointed to grant recipients “proclaim[ing] diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) values” as motivation for cancelling their federal funding. None of the terminated agreements were implementing or otherwise funding DEI initiatives. These terminations violated the First Amendment with clear viewpoint discrimination.

The case highlights the sloppy and poor execution of the grant cancellations by the Trump-Vance administration. One affected grantee, IBP, has never had a DEI policy. Its grants were apparently cancelled due to frequent references on its website to “diversity” of bird species, or IBP’s archived job posts encouraging diverse applicants. In other examples, grants that had already expired or that were in the process of closing-out were issued cancellation notices, while other grants were suddenly stopped just weeks after renewal. 

“Whether through malicious and unlawful efforts designed to stop funding for organizations that do essential work serving the people that the Trump-Vance administration doesn’t agree with, or through sheer incompetence, the Trump-Vance administration has made clear that no services or funding are safe under their watch, and that should worry every single American,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “In the United States, the President doesn’t have king-like power to force people and organizations to conform to his views. Viewpoint based discrimination by the government is not just wrong, it violates the First Amendment. We are honored to work with the Institute for Applied Ecology, Institute for Bird Populations, and Mid Klamath Watershed Council to stop the Trump-Vance administration from haphazardly threatening the important conservation work throughout the nation.” 

The case is IAE, et. al. v. Burgum et. al. and the legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Cortney Robinson, Pablo Moraga, Steven Bressler, and Robin Thurston. The legal team at Tonkon Torp includes Anna Sortun.

Read the full complaint here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.