 Spotlighting the Work to Restore, Connect, and Conserve 30 Percent of Lands and Waters by 2030�
News and Updates
 This week, the White House hosted the Tribal Nations Summit where President Biden announced that the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture have created the �Tribal Homelands Initiative.� This collaborative effort will improve federal stewardship of public lands, waters, and wildlife by strengthening the role of Tribal communities in federal land management. Through a joint Secretarial Order, the two Departments codified a policy to facilitate agreements with Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of federal lands and waters. This policy reflects a guiding principle of America the Beautiful: honoring Tribal sovereignty and supporting the priorities of Tribal Nations.
 Creating jobs by investing in restoration and resilience is a key area of focus of America the Beautiful, which the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law�s historic investment of $16 billion in legacy pollution clean-up will advance. Millions of Americans live within a mile of the tens of thousands of abandoned mines and orphaned oil and gas wells, which can leak methane gas, contaminate drinking water, and pose safety hazards to communities. In addition to addressing this legacy pollution, these investments will create tens of thousands of jobs in restoration and can support new economic development opportunities in rural and urban communities alike.
 The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program is a highly successful program that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implements to support landowners in their voluntary efforts to conserve wildlife habitat. Through the program, the Service offers financial and technical assistance to interested landowners and helps keep working lands in working hands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced�that in 2020, more than 2,000 new landowners enrolled in the program, and nearly 285,000 private landowner acres were restored. Since the program�s start in 1987, more than 50,000 landowners have worked with Partners for Fish and Wildlife biologists to complete 60,000 habitat restoration projects across 6 million acres. This program reflects a guiding principle of America the Beautiful to support the voluntary stewardship efforts of ranchers, farmers, and other private landowners.
 New Jersey announced that it will gain a new park � its first since 2006 � which will transform nine miles of abandoned rail line into the Essex-Hudson Greenway trail. Announced by Governor Phil Murphy, the project is a public-private partnership that will create more access to parks and safe outdoor opportunities in a community that has long dealt with the negative consequences of the abandoned rail line, such as illegal dumping. Advocates envision the greenway as the state�s answer to New York City�s Highline and an opportunity to make it easier for millions to enjoy the outdoors.
 At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Secretary Haaland highlighted the importance of nature-based solutions and America the Beautiful in tackling climate change. The Department of the Interior also joined land managers from around the globe to endorse and commemorate a Protected and Conserved Areas Joint Statement on Climate Change and Biodiversity Crisis. Signatories of the Joint Statement include the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and other global managers of �Protected and Conserved Areas� bodies.
###
|
