Apr 19, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 19, 2024) —The America the Beautiful for All Coalition praised the Biden Harris Administration’s announcement on Thursday of the final Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health rule.
The important modernization of BLM practices aligns with the coalition’s 2024 policy agenda, which lays out a host of actions that the Administration and Congress can take to advance the goal of conserving 30% of US lands, freshwater, and oceans by 2030 through a Justice40 lens.
BLM lands represent nearly 40% of America’s most iconic and vital public lands. They are home to culturally and ecologically significant places sacred to Tribes and many communities.
The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is a crucial step towards achieving the administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative and Justice40 goals–and rural, frontline, and communities of color will need continued support to protect lands deep in their culture and stories.
Below are statements from members of the coalition.
“This rulemaking is historic. For the first time, BLM lands will now be able to meet their full potential as multiple-use landscapes. People may now actively restore degraded and polluted lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. They will be able to sequester more excess carbon than ever while protecting cultural objects and increasing recreation opportunities even for the most vulnerable and underserved communities. More than 19 million acres of BLM land are within 10 miles of underserved and nature-deprived community members in the southwest.” said Mark Magaña, Founding President and CEO of GreenLatinos, America the Beautiful for All Coalition Co-chair. “We look forward to the implementation of this rule across the nation and landscapes managed to conserve the histories embodied in these landscapes.”
“Secretary Haaland and the Biden administration have stood strong for our public lands. The final conservation rule is an important step forward in improving public lands management. We are now counting on the Biden administration to act boldly to use and expand these tools to ambitiously address climate change and to work to ensure the durability and economic viability of conservation efforts prescribed in the rule now and for future generations.”
– Jerry Otero, America The Beautiful For All Coalition Public Lands Workgroup Co-lead; Legislative and Policy Director, Grand Canyon Trust
“We applaud the Biden administration’s decision to implement the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Public Lands Rule to address nature loss and climate change, preserve cultural areas, better protect wildlife habitat, and safeguard outdoor access and recreational opportunities. The Rule is long overdue. The Public Lands Rule clarifies that the BLM is to manage its lands in a manner that puts restoration and mitigation on equal footing with other uses of those lands. Nearly 40% of all U.S. public lands (and about 15% of those lands in California) are overseen by the BLM. We commend the Biden administration for recognizing the importance of our nation’s public lands to our environment, local economies and quality of life.”
– André Sanchez, Community Engagement and Conservation Policy Manager, CalWild
“With increasing impacts of climate change, including drought and wildfires, the BLM Conservation and Landscape Health rule comes at a critical time. It provides the exciting opportunity to lease lands for habitat restoration or for mitigating other uses – a game changer for wildlife and for communities and families near these lands. The rule also has beneficial impacts on the numerous surrounding public lands, such as national parks and forests. Wildlife will have more room to roam, and the many underserved communities living near BLM lands will benefit from improved air and water quality, and more chances to enjoy these beautiful places. Importantly, the specific acknowledgment of the requirement for BLM to respect and incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into management decisions and the direction to seek opportunities for Tribal co-stewardship are valuable components of the rule. Now, nature as well as the original stewards of these public lands are explicitly recognized.”
– Priya Nanjappa, America The Beautiful For All Coalition Public Lands Workgroup Co-lead; Vice President of Conservation Programs, National Parks Conservation Association
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s finalization of the BLM Conservation and Landscape Health rule marks a victory for public health and children’s health. This rule will restore degraded habitats on public lands and will positively impact public health by preserving these natural environments and ecosystems. Protecting public lands will protect clean water, promote physical activity, and mitigate risks from climate change, which will also support communities most at risk.”
– Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Executive Director of Children’s Environmental Health Network, America the Beautiful for All Coalition Co-chair.
About Us:
The America the Beautiful for All Coalition consists of over 250 organizations working collectively to thwart the rapidly advancing impacts of climate change; stem the loss of biodiversity; increase more equitable access to nature’s benefits; and ensure at least 40% of conservation spending occurs in communities of color and frontline communities that have historically seen little to no conservation investments. Member organizations range in focus from urban parks and green space, Indigenous rights, public lands protection, public health, wildlife, outdoor recreation and freshwater and ocean conservation — all representative of identities and issue areas that have traditionally been underrepresented in conservation decision-making in the United States.
