 Spotlighting the Work to Restore, Connect and Conserve 30 Percent of Lands and Waters by 2030�
News and Updates
The Biden-Harris administration took action to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and surrounding watershed, a spectacular network of rivers, lakes and forests in northeastern Minnesota. The area comprises the most heavily visited wilderness area in the United States and offers renowned recreational opportunities. In January, the Interior Department withdrew approximately 225,000 acres in the Superior National Forest from disposition under mineral and geothermal leasing laws for a 20-year period, subject to valid existing rights. This action will help protect the Rainy River watershed, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the 1854 Ceded Territory of the Chippewa Bands, from the potential adverse impacts of new mineral and geothermal exploration and development. This action builds upon decades of local efforts to protect the landscape, watershed and a growing local outdoor recreation economy.��
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded nearly $19 million to support 21 projects in eight coastal states to protect, restore or enhance nearly 14,000 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent upland habitats under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. In addition, state, local and Tribal governments, private landowners, conservation groups, and other partners will also contribute more than $20 million in additional funds to support these efforts. These grants will have wide-reaching benefits for local economies, people, and wildlife in line with the goals of the initiative, boosting coastal resilience, stabilizing shorelines, and protecting natural ecosystems.�
Secretary Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited South Florida, where they highlighted how President Biden�s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering the largest single investment in the Everglades in U.S. history. In the past two years, the Biden-Harris administration has allocated a record $2 billion for Everglades restoration through both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and historic presidential budget requests. The cross-agency investments include resources for wildlife crossings, fish passage, ecosystem restoration, clean water and natural resilience.��
About 36 conservation groups in New Mexico are working to pass a bill that would create the state's first dedicated funding sources to conserve and enhance land and water resources, habitats and certain species in New Mexico, with support from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and some legislators. Governor Grisham signed an executive order establishing a state-wide goal to conserve at least 30 percent of its lands by 2030, paralleling the goal President Biden established in Executive Order 14008.�
Supporters say that creating the two funds in New Mexico -- the Conservation Legacy Permanent Fund and the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund, under the state Miscellaneous Natural Resource Matters law -- would resemble what a few other western states have done through, for example, the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust.�
Two years ago, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. This landmark Executive Order created the first-ever National Climate Task Force, with more than 25 Cabinet-level leaders working together on an all-of-government approach to combating the climate crisis and advancing environmental justice. The Task Force is guided by President Biden�s clear and ambitious vision of achieving a 50 to 52% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. The Order also created the first-ever White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, which is working across the federal family to address current and historic environmental injustice.�
Progress related to conservation and restoration aligned with the America the Beautiful initiative from the past two years includes actions taken to protect public lands and waters, including the Colorado�s Thompson Divide, Alaska�s Bristol Bay - the most productive wild salmon ecosystem in the world, and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.��
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