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Biden administration to announce plan to protect 30% of U.S. lands and water
The Biden administration will release plan on Thursday to sharply increase conservation of public lands and waters over the next decade.
By MATTHEW DALYAssociated Press
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A clearing late-day storm adds drama in the sky over a sawgrass prairie in Everglades National Park in Florida in 2019. Associated Press/Robert F. Bukaty
WASHINGTON The Biden administration is outlining a plan to sharply increase conservation of public lands and waters over the next decade. A report to be issued Thursday recommends a series of steps to achieve a nationwide goal to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
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Officials aim to incentivize voluntary actions from fishers, hunters, ranchers and forest owners and create jobs by investing in resilience.
“Where this path leads over the next decade will be determined not by our agencies, but by the ideas and leadership of local communities. It is our job to listen, learn, and provide support along the way to help strengthen economies and pass on healthy lands, waters, and wildlife for generations to come,” they wrote in a letter released with the report.
While the report lacked some detail as to what the federal government would do in order to make sure the goals are met, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy
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Asked if there are any types of activities, like energy development, that wouldn t be allowed on land that’s considered protected, Mallory said, “you’ll see when we issue this that there are different categories of lands.”
“There are lands that are more working lands and what occurs on those lands may vary,” she said.
What else is the council handling?: The council also deals with how a bedrock environmental law called the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires environmental analyses ahead of projects such as pipelines, highways and drilling on public lands, is implemented.
She also said that the administration is aiming to go “as quickly as possible” on its review of the Trump administration’s changes to NEPA.
President Joe Biden (Image: Twitter/@CNNPolitics)
Reuters – The White House Council on Environmental Quality expects to submit a plan for helping clean up the nation’s most polluted communities to President Joe Biden within weeks, according to the council’s new chair, Brenda Mallory.
The widely anticipated blueprint is intended to help Biden execute a campaign promise to ensure 40% of federal clean energy investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, and should be ready by the end of May, she said.
The council also expects to launch a data mapping tool around that time to help identify those communities, Mallory said.