On Earth Week, Long-Awaited Conservation Announcements
Photo credit: Tim Foster
At the start of new administrations, Outdoor Alliance has often offered a series of ideas about how decision makers and land management agencies can best protect outdoor recreation experiences and conserve public lands. At the start of the Biden administration, Outdoor Alliance shared numerous ideas about foregrounding climate action, conservation, and sustainable outdoor recreation. This week, the Biden administration finalized several initiatives years in the making that include investments in the American Climate Corps, protections for 245 million acres, and conserving land in Alaska.
Through the support and advocacy of Tribes and the recreation and conservation communities, these initiatives will help land management agencies meet the challenges of the 21st century, including addressing the ongoing effects of climate change, improving renewable energy development on public lands, and prioritizing conservation and recreation. From early in the administration, Outdoor Alliance has been offering ideas about how the administration and Congress can work to benefit climate, conservation, and outdoor recreation access. For the outdoor recreation community, these initiatives will lead to very real improvements to how lands are managed and protected. This week is the culmination of years of work, advocacy, public outreach, and good ideas for protecting the outdoors.
The timing of these administrative actions is also intended to skirt the approaching deadline for the next Congress to unravel recent actions from a prior administration. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is a tool that allows Congress, with a new president in place, to quickly overturn final rules issued by agencies in the last 60 legislative calendar days of the prior Congress (which vary, depending on when and how much Congress is in session during the latter half of the year). Along with celebrating Earth week, the Biden administration and agencies are working briskly to ensure their rules and regulations are outside of the CRA’s 60-day review period, which is likely to hit sometime in mid-May.
For those who haven’t been following along (or even if you have, there’s a lot), here’s a quick summary of everything the administration and the agencies have recently issued on conservation, the environment, and the outdoors:
BLM Public Lands Rule: A big deal! The last effort at updating BLM land management (BLM Planning 2.0) was overturned by…you guessed it, the CRA, back in 2017. It’s taken seven more years, but the final Public Lands Rule offers much-needed updates for the BLM to manage 245 million acres in the face of increasing stress from climate change, visitation, and the demand for renewable energy and other development.
Tracking conservation progress: Outdoor Alliance has long worked on 30x30, the effort to protect 30% of our land and water by 2030 to forestall the worst effects of climate change. Back in 2021, the Biden administration announced its commitment to the goal, and recently shared its effort to track progress toward this conservation effort.
American Climate Corps: Modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, the American Climate Corps now has 2,000 positions listed for young Americans to work to address climate change and improve public lands.
Modernizing solar development: The BLM is working to update its Western Solar Plan to help expedite solar energy development on public land while limiting conflicts with other user groups like outdoor recreation.
Modernizing oil and gas leasing: The BLM recently released its final oil and gas leasing rules, finalizing a reform effort that Outdoor Alliance has been working on for more than six years. The new rules better protect outdoor recreation and conservation values and help taxpayers get a fair return on oil and gas leases.
Four new wildlife refuges: The administration announced that it would expand four national wildlife refuges, conserving 1.13 million acres in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.
A partnership to protect clean water: As part of the effort to protect clean water after the Supreme Court Sackett decision, the administration is calling on land managers, states, Tribes, and local communities to work together to protect and restore wetlands, rivers, and streams.
Protections in Alaska: the Biden administration announced two significant protections in Alaska. First, a final rule that protects more than 13 million acres in the western Arctic; and second, an environmental analysis recommending against the Ambler Road project, a development that would cross 200 miles of habitat in Alaska.
Public lands and waters are facing enormous stresses, and this week’s announcements make very real progress in addressing these threats and modernizing how we manage and care for our public lands and waters. They will help us better address wildfire, drought, the demand for renewable energy, and the need for public lands and waters to fight climate change and to provide sustainable outdoor recreation experiences to all Americans. For the BLM, these final rules represent a real shift from “energy dominance” and extraction on public lands to a focus on recreation, conservation, and a transition to renewable energy.
Outdoor Alliance and the wider outdoor community have been a vital voice in getting many of these rules and protections across the finish line. We have advocated for years for natural climate solutions and 30x30, have worked closely with the agencies on tracking and responding to oil and gas leases as well as reforms to the leasing process, have helped develop ideas for the BLM to modernize planning through the new Public Lands Rule, and have advocated for the American Climate Corps. Recreation continues to be a vital voice in championing conservation and in helping to shape the future of public lands and waters that is sustainable, resilient, and equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century.