The Biden administration today released a report providing more details on how it plans to meet its earlier goal to conserve at least 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. Entitled “America the Beautiful,” the 22-page document outlines principles that should guide those efforts, several of which pertain to agriculture. More specifically, it indicates that conservation work should recognize and support farmers’ contributions to environmental stewardship as well as include them in conversations about how best to protect our natural resources.
Because farmers and ranchers steward about 44 percent of the United States’ landmass, National Farmers Union (NFU) maintains that it absolutely essential that that agriculture is incorporated into broader conservation endeavors. In a statement today, the organization’s president Rob Larew said he was pleased that the administration’s report takes the sector’s important role into account and that he looks forward to working with them to develop the principles into a fully fleshed-out plan.
“Farmers Union members care deeply about protecting the natural resources that support their livelihoods. When the administration first announced its plans to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s land, however, we had a lot of questions about what that might mean for agriculture. After sharing those concerns with the administration, we are heartened that our feedback was taken seriously and incorporated into the final principles.
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