How Western states can contribute to conserving 30% of America by 2030

The American West is home to iconic natural landscapes and varied ecosystems that support wildlife, and strong local communities and economies. However, nature is under threat. Across the West, we're losing a football field of natural area every 30 seconds, a threat to ecosystems and communities that is only being exacerbated by climate change.

To combat the dual climate and biodiversity crises and prevent the collapse of natural systems, scientists are urging that we conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030 — the 30x30 goal. As America works toward the 30x30 goal, Western states can lead the way with state-sponsored conservation efforts and funding, implementing creative solutions to promote, support, and continue the incredible work already being done all across the West.

A new report by the Center for Western Priorities analyzes what states around the West are already doing to conserve lands and waters—from expanding state parks to incentivizing private land conservation easements—providing templates for other states to follow. View the report to learn about innovative conservation efforts in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

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Descendants of some of the first people to live in Utah are showing the way to keep our environment habitable for generations still to come.

They are not alone in this, but people of the Navajo Nation are among the leaders in the move from expensive, dirty and climate-altering fossil fuels as the source of electricity to clean, renewable and, increasingly, lower-cost means of powering our world.

The rest of Utah would be wise to follow, dropping the distraction of many state officials who continue to support the mining and export of coal and competing to see which of them can do a better job of taking full advantage of Utah’s abundant sources of wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy.”