** More than 50 countries embrace 30x30 goal to protect nature
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Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Pine Forest Range Wilderness Area, Nevada. Photo: Bob Wick, BLM ([link removed]) .

A coalition of more than 50 countries ([link removed]) across six continents have pledged support for an ambitious goal to protect 30 percent of nature by 2030 to halt the climate and extinction crises before it's too late. The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People says ([link removed]) that protecting at least 30 percent of the remaining natural areas on the planet by the end of the decade is crucial to preventing mass extinctions of plants and animals, and necessary to protect life-sustaining ecosystems worldwide that produce clean air and water.

UK environment minister Zac Goldsmith said of the HAC's commitment ([link removed]) , “We know there is no pathway to tackling climate change that does not involve a massive increase in our efforts to protect and restore nature. We have an enormous opportunity at this year’s biodiversity conference in China to forge an agreement to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.”

Momentum behind the "30x30 goal ([link removed]) " to protect nature is growing at the state level in the United States as well. The Center for Western Priorities' Winning the West 2020 ([link removed]) poll, taken before the 2020 election, showed overwhelming approval for the 30x30 initiative in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico, with the bold but achievable initiative receiving 75 percent ([link removed]) support from voters and majority support across party lines. At the end of last year, New York state lawmakers ([link removed]) joined California, Hawaii, and South Carolina in introducing legislation
([link removed]) to protect 30 percent of the land and water in the state by 2030.


** Bernhardt blindsides BLM state directors with law enforcement order
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Last month, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt quietly signed a directive ([link removed]) that could dramatically shape the Bureau of Land Management's law enforcement protocols—without notifying BLM state directors. By approving the proposed changes, Bernhardt ignored the recommendations ([link removed]) of career Interior Department and BLM officials developed over a two-year process that called for more oversight of law enforcement personnel. BLM state directors and senior personnel were reportedly stunned ([link removed]) when William Perry Pendley notified them of the changes last week, including Mike Nedd ([link removed]) , the top ranking career official at BLM, who was reportedly unaware of the changes. A coalition of BLM state directors is planning to send a letter to Bernhardt this week to
oppose the directive ([link removed]) , which alters the chain of command for the BLM's more than 200 law enforcement rangers in ways critics say ([link removed]) give political appointees control over how laws and regulations are enforced.
Quick hits


** D.C. Mayor urges Secretary Bernhardt to cancel permit requests for inauguration protests on park service property
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E&E News ([link removed])


** London-based shareholders raise concerns about Arizona copper mine's impacts on Native American community
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Mining Weekly ([link removed])


** More than 50 countries embrace 30x30 goal to save nature
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The Guardian ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Questions remain about suspicious destruction of rare plant in the way of a proposed Nevada lithium mine
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Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** Significant uptick in new hunters and anglers in 2020 is good news for state conservation funding
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Supreme Court to hear case alleging Secretary Mnuchin gave covid relief funds for tribal nations to corporations
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Law & Crime ([link removed])


** Bernhardt blindsides BLM state directors with law enforcement reforms
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: After fomenting insurrection at U.S. Capitol, Arizona Rep. Finchem must be removed from office
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Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Congress intended for tribal governments, not Alaska corporate interests, to share in CARES Act funds for Indian Country. Too much is at stake on the COVID response and recovery efforts in Indian Country and contrary to Congressional intent, if funds are siphoned away. We look forward to the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the appeals court’s rejection of Alaska Native Corporations eligibility of CARES Act funds so that these much-needed dollars will finally be distributed to tribal governments who are the rightful recipients and will help their citizens rebuild from what is the worst public health crisis in generations.”
—Chuck Hoskin Jr. ([link removed]) , Cherokee Nation Principal Chief
Picture this


** @GrandCanyonNPS ([link removed])
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Grand Canyon is in the northwest corner of Arizona, close to the borders of Utah and Nevada. The Colorado River, which flows through the canyon, drains water from 7 states, but the place we know as Grand Canyon is entirely in Arizona. Photo/NASA from International Space Station.

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