The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined 44 other members of the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition submitting formal comments to the Federal Register about the Biden administration’s “America the Beautiful” Initiative, more well-known as the 30×30 Initiative which seeks to protect the earth’s biodiversity and address climate change by protecting 30 percent of the Earth’s lands and waters by the year 2030.
Among other things, recommendations urge the administration to identify the lands and waters considered to be “conserved” based on conservation outcomes rather than arbitrary criteria. The groups also highlight the importance of working with entities such as state fish and wildlife management agencies, regional fish and wildlife management authorities, tribes, conservation focused NGOs and private landowners who are most knowledgeable and best equipped to advance pragmatic and successful conservation efforts throughout the U.S.
Those recommendations reflect the priorities first outlined in the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition’s “Hunting and Fishing Community Statement on the 30×30 Initiative:”
- Clearly defining “conservation” to support the active management and sustainable use of our nation’s public trust fish and wildlife resources.
- Collaborating closely with entities devoted to achieving measurable biodiversity conservation objectives, including:
- State fish and wildlife management agencies,
- Regional fish and wildlife management bodies,
- Members of the sporting-conservation community,
- The more than 500 federally recognized Native American tribes, and
- Private landowners through voluntary, incentive-based opportunities.
- Recognizing and including all efforts directly contributing to biodiversity conservation in the forthcoming American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, including those on lands subject to multiple uses.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)