Marinscope
Marin County is way above the curve when it comes to preserving land and water.
The Biden Administration and the State of California launched a global initiative urging the preservation of 30% of land and waters by 2030.
The initiative is called the “30-by-30” plan. It is hoped the initiative will not only preserve more lands for the future, but also combat climate change.
Marin County has already set aside 85% of its land.
California as a state has more work to do. Only 24% of the state and 16% of the waters are currently under protection.
Nationally, just 12% of the land is set aside, most of it in the Western part of the United States.
The Biden Administration plans to reach 30 percent not by protecting more land but by redefining “what constitutes ‘conserved’ land, to make that new definition distinct from ‘protected’ land, and to cede power to local communities and tribal nations to reach that target,” Vox reported.
Though details are sparse, Biden appointees are trying to iron out tensions that stem from past conservation programs from national parks, some of which were established at the expense of Native Americans, to regulations on ranch lands.
“We know we have to work across public, tribal, and working lands to be successful,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a press call recently. “Conservation works best when it’s about partnership and collaboration.”
While America has some of the world’s strongest environmental policies, its species, ecosystems, and natural spaces are in rapid decline. About 12,000 wildlife species are in need of protection to avoid the threat of extinction, the report says. “We are witnessing staggering declines in wildlife populations,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, said on the press call with Vox. “Nature in America is in trouble and Americans across the country are seeing and feeling the impacts.”
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