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Last month, the United Nations convened a biodiversity conference in Montreal during which delegates from countries around the world agreed to the ambitious goal of protecting 30 percent of the Earth's land and waters by 2030, otherwise known as the 30x30 goal. While the United States was not one of the nations to formally ratify the convention on biodiversity, President Joe Biden embraced the 30x30 goal shortly after taking office, calling for a plan recommending steps the U.S. can take to reach the goal.
Robert Semple Jr., a former reporter and writer for the New York Times editorial board, published an opinion on Biden's progress toward reaching the 30x30 goal, stating, "Biden must rapidly accelerate conservation measures on federal, state, and private lands while keeping intact natural carbon sinks like the old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest and the mangroves, wetlands, and timberlands in the Southeast." In order to meet the urgency of addressing the inextricably linked biodiversity and climate crises, Semple identifies "many steps, big and small, that must be taken on the road to 30x30."
Semple gives President Biden credit for undoing some of the damage caused by the Trump administration, including restoring the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, as well as restoring protections for the Tongass National Forest and effectively halting oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
However, Mr. Semple argues that President Biden has yet to "make vigorous use of the Antiquities Act" to create more new national monuments and encourages Biden to follow through on his promise to protect Nevada's Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain, area. He also urges Biden to direct the Interior and Agriculture departments to complete an inventory of old growth forests that are most in need of protection. Finally, he recommends that Biden nudge Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to facilitate the Bureau of Land Management's pivot toward conservation and away from its historical emphasis on mining and drilling, particularly through the increased establishments of Wilderness Study Areas.
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Providing public access for a multitude of recreational users and applying restoration principles to enhance wildlife habitat is paramount to the BLM’s mission. This acquisition also helps to advance President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, which seeks to use partnerships and voluntary actions like this one to conserve, connect, and restore 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.”
