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It has been nearly two years since President Biden released his America the Beautiful Plan for conserving, connecting, and restoring 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 (30x30). While he has made some progress on his conservation agenda, a coalition of 150 organizations believes achieving 30x30 requires more urgent action, and it is calling on the Biden administration to expand access to nature for previously underserved communities.
Launched in Spring 2022, the America the Beautiful for All coalition is organized by a 16-member committee with leaders from wildlife and ocean groups, health networks, Indigenous and other communities of color, and more. The coalition will work to champion the 30x30 initiative by bringing diversity to the forefront—in addition to adopting the 30x30 goal, they have endorsed Justice40, a metric for the America the Beautiful Initiative to ensure at least 40 percent of conservation investments are in communities of color and areas that have historically seen little investment in equitable access to nature.
According to their newly released 2023 policy agenda, Justice40 is just one of the many ways the coalition is pushing for equitable and robust conservation action. Their list of justice-aligned priorities includes co-management and co-stewardship of public lands, tribal sovereignty, public health, and collaboration with those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, pollution, and nature loss.
Can Hickenlooper save the Colorado River?
Over the past year, Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper has been quietly organizing meetings with U.S. Senators from six other Colorado River Basin states to address the diminishing waterway. The senators’ meetings became more frequent in order to meet a federally-imposed January 31st deadline, which was missed because a seven-state consensus could not be reached. According to Hickenlooper, the caucus is seeking to appoint a chair and subchairs for the upper and lower Colorado River Basin, a move that will help formalize the caucus moving forward.
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It's a genuine effort to connect our glaring equity, public health and environmental protection needs with a robust and urgent policy agenda that puts protection first.”
