Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Biden administration released a new report providing an update on progress being made towards achieving the America the Beautiful initiative to conserve 30 percent of all lands and waters in the United States by 2030. The goal is recognized by the scientific community as a necessary benchmark to stave off the most damaging effects of the climate crisis.
In response, Chris Hill, Chief Conservation Officer at the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“The America the Beautiful initiative is one of the Biden Administration’s most ambitious goals to take on the climate and extinction crises. It is also one of the most necessary.
“President Biden identified America the Beautiful as an administrative priority during his first hundred days in office. Since then, we’ve seen the creation of five new national monuments protecting nearly 1.5 million acres, threatened landscapes safeguarded from extraction, and access to nature expanded to millions of people.
“But the work isn’t over. To achieve 30x30, we need to protect more lands and waters by the end of the decade than we did in the last century. That means designating more national monuments, ending destructive extraction on public lands, and refocusing federal efforts from resource management to conservation across the country. We’ve made great strides in just three years – and we can’t let up now.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.