30x30
In Executive Order 14008, “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” (January 27, 2001), President Biden’s has committed to “conserving” 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 (30x30). Unfortunately, underlings in his Administration are dropping the ball, primarily by attempting to lower the definition of “conserving” to include any lands that are managed for less than full rape-and-run (profit maximization). Lowering the standard on nature conservation to up the numbers “conserved” is like counting a face mask hanging loose from one ear as someone being masked. It’s not going to end well. The land is available to actually be conserved (permanently protected areas dedicated to the preservation of biological diversity) to attain 30x30 (and ultimately 50x50). Whether this Administration has the courage to actually conserve this amount of land is an open question.
I submitted the following report to the Biden Administration “Request for Information To Inform Interagency Efforts To Develop the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas:
Abstract
President Biden has committed the United States to achieving conservation protection for 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030 (30x30). This paper addresses only the lands (not the waters) side of the goal. Currently 13 percent (13x21) of US lands have adequate conservation protection (US Geological Survey GAP 1 or GAP 2 status). To achieve 30 percent by 2030, another 17 percent, or ~490 million acres, must attain GAP 1 or GAP 2 status. While the federal government could take or facilitate a multitude of public policy actions that would benefit conservation, and while such actions would generally be useful to society, not all would confer levels of protection that would result in GAP 1 or GAP 2 status, and thus not all would contribute to the 30x30 goal. This paper offers a set of detailed recipes for conservation actions that can be taken by Congress and/or the Biden administration to reach 30x30. Many of these conservation actions could apply to the same acres, so the totals are gross, not net. Even if Congress does not act to meet this goal, administrative action (including presidential proclamations, presidential executive orders, action by the interior secretary, and action by the agriculture—Forest Service—secretary), if properly fashioned, can reach 30x30. This cookbook focuses primarily on existing federal public lands, and such lands are disproportionately in the West and Alaska; thus, many ecoregions across the nation would be underrepresented in achieving 30x30 if just these recipes were followed. But overshooting 30x30 by disproportionate protection of federal public lands would not be a problem, as the ultimate scientifically required goal is 50x50.
I have also written on 30x30 in four posts to my Public Lands Blog:
• Kerr, Andy. May 14, 2021. Biden’s Bait and Switch. Public Lands Blog #193
• Kerr, Andy, February 28. 30x30 (Part 1): By the Numbers. Public Lands Blog #200 (forthcoming)
• Kerr, Andy, February 28, 2022. 30x30 (Part 2): What “Conserved” Needs to Mean. Public Lands Blog #201 (forthcoming)
• Kerr, Andy, February 28, 2022. 30x30 (Part 3): 44 Tasty Conservation Recipes One Can Make at Home—If One Lives in The White House. Public Lands Blog #202 (forthcoming)
• Kerr, Andy. May 13, 2023. Attaining 30x30 50x50 in Oregon. May 2023. PDF of PPT.
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