Can Conservatives Go Green?
November 2, 2026
Clare Ath always loved the outdoors. The summer after her freshman year of college, she got a job as a backpacking guide in Colorado, planning and leading camping trips in the Rocky Mountains. Ath noticed that the people she encountered in that environment tended to be secular and politically progressive. The experience made her wonder if there was a place for people like herself, a conservative Catholic who was passionate about the outdoors. Now, a decade later, this mother of four is cofounder of the new nonprofit Vita Et Terra, which is part of a growing conservative environmental movement that sees more humans as a solution, not a problem.
That message is resonating with young conservatives who don’t connect with left-wing environmental messaging but still care about the planet. Danielle Franz, a self-identified conservative and CEO of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), which has over 100,000 members across the country, says her organization has succeeded by branding itself as “a new kind of environmental movement” aimed at mobilizing college students and young professionals on environmental issues. Franz sees environmental stewardship as logical for conservatives to pursue.
