The Biden administration unveiled an ambitious plan Thursday to see the country conserve 30 percent of its land and water by 2030/Kurt Repanshek

Biden administration officials on Thursday unveiled an ambitious roadmap for pushing the country to conserve "at least" 30 percent of its lands and waters for nature by 2030, but it remains to be seen how much support Congress gives the initiative that currently has no estimated cost.

Environmental and conservation organizations quickly endorsed the administration's effort, noting the societal value of nature, but success requires collaboration, compromise, and buy-in from local entities, ranchers, farmers, native cultures, and states along with federal agencies and Congress.

As outlined in a preliminary 24-page report (attached below), Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful, the administration envisions a national effort to safeguard and improve drinking water, clean air, and wildlife, while also working to offset climate change "with the natural solutions that our forests, agricultural lands, and the ocean provide; and the need to give every child in America the chance to experience the wonders of nature."

Such an effort requires widespread support, including that from the political parties, and, so far, an unknown amount of resources.

"I don't think that we're prepared at this point to put a total figure on this," Gina McCarthy, the White House's national climate advisor, replied when asked what kind of support, dollar-wise as well as in the form of technology and other resources, the plan would require. "I think it's important to recognize that we've already taken some steps forward. It's important to recognize that the proposed fiscal year 2022 budget really does make investments in collaborative conservation. Congress recently passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which is really a down payment on how we look at conserving our lands and waters."

In outlining the 10-year effort, McCarthy told reporters on a conference call that the benefits would be widespread. Those benefits, she said, would be "for the sake of every child in America who deserves to have clean, safe, nearby places to experience the wonders of nature."

"This is the very first conservation goal we have ever set as a country," she said. "This national goal, which we will pursue by supporting locally led efforts, really reflects the urgency with which we have to respond to a global extinction crisis, our climate crisis, and the deep racial and economic disparities that really too often dictate who has access to nature. As the chair of the national climate task force I can tell you that we cannot confront climate change without doing a far better job to conserve our forests, our oceans, our wetlands and our grasslands. Natural solutions are some of the most powerful as well as effective climate solutions. And conserving and restoring nature happens to be something that America, our country, does better than anyone else in the world."

The half-hour call also saw Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory share their thoughts on the plan. Though Raimondo acknowledged that the plan had an "ambitious goal with an ambitious agenda," Vilsack said local involvement was key to success.

"Those making their living from the land, our farmers, ranchers, and foresters, are bearing the brunt of climate change," he said. "While communities across the country are suffering hotter and longer droughts, catastrophic wildfires and extreme weather events, the good news is we now have strategies to address these challenges and that they will be locally led. We know that conservation works best when it's about partnership and collaboration. Whether our goal is to conserve watersheds or wildlife, to restore forest health or to take actions to address climate change through climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices, we know we have to work across public, tribal, and working lands to be successful.

"Fortunately," added Vilsack, "we have many examples of how conservation can work for communities, landowners, producers, and for the economy. This report calls on us, all of us, in partnership with states, tribes, private landowners, to build on the long tradition of land stewardship across American lands."

Haaland said the outline for the report came from input received "during dozens of listening sessions, and feedback from hundreds of local, state, and federal elected officials, scientists, tribal leaders, ranchers, farmers, forest owners, and private landowners, outdoor recreation businesses, conservation organizations."

"We've focused on equity issues, commercial, and recreational fishing companies, hunters, and anglers, and so many more," the Interior secretary added. "Overwhelmingly, what we heard in these conversations is a deep appreciation for the land, waters, and wildlife, and a recognition that they are intimately connected to the health of our nation and our economy."

Mallory stressed that failure to act would be costly.

"Nature in America is in trouble," she said. "And Americans across the country are seeing and feeling the impact. Climate change is reshaping our lands and our oceans and our coasts. We are witnessing staggering declines in wildlife populations, habitat is being fragmented into smaller and smaller parcels. Ranches, forests, and other working lands are being converted to parking lots and subdivisions. And too many children are growing up with little or no chance to explore or learn from the wonders of nature. 

"We need a collective, all-hands-on-deck effort, national effort, to conserve and restore the lands and water upon which we all depend," Mallory said. "

Part of the effort, she added, would be to come up with an accurate figure of how much land -- public and private -- in the country already has been conserved for nature. To calculate that figure, the plan calls for creation of an American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas to assemble baseline data on the amount and types of lands and waters that currently are being managed for conservation and restoration purposes. There also are to be annual updates on "the health of nature in America and on the federal government's efforts to support locally led conservation and restoration efforts." The first such report is to arrive by year's end.

The plan also calls for 40 percent "of the overall benefits from relevant federal investments" to reach disadvantaged communities. While it calls on the National Park Service to strengthen its efforts on "creating new parks and access to nature in historically underserved communities," it was unclear Thursday where the agency would obtain the resources to do so.

However, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which Congress has fully funded, possibly could help meet the costs of such work. There also is work underway in Congress to secure funding specifically for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, which the Park Service uses to expand its reach to underserved communities.

Congress could find itself with more leeway, funding-wise, as the Budget Control Act of 2011 has expired and FY22 will be the first opportunity to expand the overall caps, which have constrained spending. Whether Democrats and Republicans can come to terms on new spending, however, is always an elusive goal and remains to be seen.

On Wednesday, GOP members of the House Natural Resources Committee dismissed the administration's 30 by 30 efforts.

"At this point the administration has failed to develop its policy beyond a catchy tagline," said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas. "They have not defined a baseline of current conservation practices, established metrics for measuring progress, or even provided a clear understanding of how they define the word 'conservation.'"

But at Defenders of Wildlife, President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark said Thursday that the prospect of losing 1 million species globally to climate change and habitat destruction underscores the need for the administration's plan.

"Science tells us that we need to change course to save species ‒ and ourselves ‒ and that achieving the 30x30 goal is a key part of the solution," she said. "The recommendations from the administration recognize that we must engage all interested constituencies to create enduring solutions for climate and biodiversity. We are excited to support this growing local, national and global effort.”   

Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said his organization of retired Park Service rangers and managers supports "President Biden’s ambitious and critically-needed conservation plan. "

"This enthusiastic and intentional vision will help protect our national parks, ameliorate the impacts of climate change on our irreplaceable resources, and ensure that all Americans have access to our country’s incredible parks and lands," Francis said. “President Biden’s committed approach to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands, waters and ocean territory by 2030 is critical to saving our natural world and protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change."

National Audubon Society officials viewed the Biden plan as “a generational commitment to address our nation’s most urgent conservation challenges.”

“We all want to leave our communities healthier than we found them, and birds – the proverbial canary in the coal mine - are telling us that they are in trouble, which means so are we," added Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president for conservation policy. "This plan will help bring birds and nature back and include all of us in the decisions on how we restore and conserve the lands and waters we share.”

At the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Whit Fosburgh was impressed by the administration's approach to the problems, saying, "We appreciate the administration’s focus on fostering collaborative solutions to conserve our lands and waters, while including feedback from sportsmen and sportswomen."

“Whether it be climate change or public access or habitat loss, the issues facing our outdoor places are multi-faceted and require thoughtful leadership," said Fosburgh, the organization's president and CEO. "As this plan continues to take shape, the details will matter, and the hunting and fishing community is ready to bring solutions to the table.”