The Biden-Harris administration this week laid out a 10-year effort to conserve 30 percent of public, private, and Tribal lands and waters by 2030, calling on volunteer efforts that would create jobs and strengthen the economy, tackle climate change, and address inequitable access to the outdoors.
The administration’s “America the Beautiful” report outlines six priorities in its so-called 30×30 Initiative:
- Support Tribally led conservation and restoration priorities.
- Expand collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitats and corridors.
- Increase access for outdoor recreation.
- Create incentives and reward voluntary conservation efforts of fishers, ranchers, farmers, and forest owners.
- Create jobs by investing in restoration and resilience projects and initiatives, including the Civilian Climate Corps.
The report, developed by the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, was submitted to the National Climate Task Force on Thursday, May 6.
“The president’s challenge is a call to action to support locally led conservation and restoration efforts of all kinds and all over America, wherever communities wish to safeguard the lands and waters they know and love,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory wrote in the report. “Doing so will not only protect our lands and waters but also boost our economy and support jobs nationwide.”
Steps are already being taken to support outdoor recreation and equitable access to the outdoors.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, nearly tripling the size of the sanctuary and protecting 14 reefs and banks that are important fish habitat.
- The National Park Service is expected to announce $150 million in funding for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, which helps build parks in underserved communities.
- And NOAA is working with the state of Connecticut to create a living classroom for education, research, and recreation by designating a National Estuarine Research Reserve in Long Island Sound. The final designation paperwork is expected by January 2022, which will make it the 30th estuary reserve in the national system.
Federal agencies developed the recommendations after hearing from a broad swath of stakeholders, among them Tribal leaders, governors, members of Congress, county officials, state elected officials, state fish and wildlife agencies, leaders on equity and justice in conservation policy, environmental advocacy organizations, hunting and fishing organizations, regional fisheries management councils, farming and ranching organizations, trade associations, forestry representatives, outdoor recreation businesses and users, the seafood industry, and others.
“This report is only the starting point on the path to fulfilling the conservation vision that President Biden has outlined,” the report said. “Where this path leads over the next decade will be determined not by our agencies, but by the ideas and leadership of local communities. It is our job to listen, learn, and provide support along the way to help strengthen economies and pass on healthy lands, waters, and wildlife to the generations to come.”
The report emphasized three areas that need attention:
The disappearance of nature: The dwindling numbers of bees and other pollinators is reducing crop yields and threatens food security. Bird populations have declined by 3 billion in North America over the past 50 years. Critical ocean habitats are declining, including an estimated 90 percent loss of live corals in the Florida Keys over the past 40 years and up to a 90 percent loss of bull kelp off the northern coast of California in less than 10 years.
Climate change: Climate change is altering ecosystems on land and water, contributing to the decline of wildlife. Climate change is also contributing to historic droughts and floods, more frequent and intense wildfires and natural disasters, and the spread of invasive species. The impacts of climate change on habitat are forcing some wildlife to new areas to survive, while squeezing other species closer to extinction.
Inequitable access to the outdoors: Discrimination and segregation in housing, transportation, conservation, and natural resource policy give communities of color and low-income communities disproportionately less access to nature’s benefits, such as clean water, clean air, and access to nature. An estimated 100 million Americans do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of their home.
Federal agencies involved in the report are expected to annually publicize progress in meeting conservation efforts, beginning at the end of 2021.
Featured photo by Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
