Conservation Plan Submitted to National Climate Task Force

On May 6, 2021, the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Commerce and the Council on Environmental Quality delivered a preliminary report to the National Climate Task Force recommending a ten-year national conservation campaign. The report was written pursuant to President Biden's January 27 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, which directed the four agencies to deliver a plan to conserve at least 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030. The report articulates eight "principles for a locally led effort to conserve and restore American the Beautiful," which emphasize support to local conservation efforts, ensuring that conservation benefits are equally distributed and reach communities that historically have lacked access to open space, and honoring tribal sovereignty. The report recommends that the government establish an interagency working group of experts to collect baseline information on conservation and report annually on the government's progress.