Spotlighting the Work to Conserve 30% of Lands and Waters by 2030
News and Updates
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s San Diego National Wildlife Refuge to discuss the importance of urban wildlife refuges, highlight the America the Beautiful initiative, and honor Hispanic Heritage Month.
 Conservation stewardship and increasing equitable access to public lands, like urban wildlife refuges, are essential components of the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative.
The Department of the Interior announced that $34 million in grants was approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which will provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners the ability to help conserve or restore 177,000 acres of wetland and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds in 20 states. The grants, made through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, will be matched by $74 million in partner funds.
Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, in partnership with the Cave Research Foundation (CRF), announced the addition of eight miles of passageways in Mammoth Cave. The additional mileage was mapped and documented through hours of survey work completed by the CRF and brings the official length of the world’s longest cave to 420 miles.
 The CRF is a local, non-profit group founded in 1957. Members of the CRF spent hours crawling, climbing and rappelling through cave passageways, following leads through sometimes very tight openings to document and map Mammoth Cave. Comprised exclusively of volunteers, the group has assisted the park with cave survey work for over 60 years and provided thousands of hours of volunteer work. Increasing access for outdoor recreation, through locally led efforts, is central tenet of the America the Beautiful initiative.
 WASHINGTON (KRON) – The Department of the Interior announced it has secured funds for dozens of projects that will help rehabilitate the Tahoe area and other parts of Nevada impacted by fires.
$348 million for 62 projects throughout Nevada and the California side of the Lake Tahoe Basin will be used for recreation improvement, wildlife habitat conservation, hazardous fuels reduction and wildfire prevention.
Funding for the projects was generated through the sale of public lands under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA).
“Since 1998, sales of public land within the Las Vegas Valley have been funding projects that benefit communities and improve the overall quality of life for residents and visitors. This program makes a significant investment in supporting jobs and local economies throughout Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “These funds will improve recreation opportunities in rural and low-income communities, and contribute to the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative’s goal to conserve at least 30 percent each of our lands and waters by the year 2030.”
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