Environmental Science, Policy, and Management professors Arthur Middleton and Justin Brashares co-wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times about President-Elect Biden’s conservation goals. The article describes the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to conserve 30 percent of U.S. land and 30 percent of its ocean waters by 2030 in order to slow climate change and species extinction. They comment that newly protected public lands will ideally link to surrounding private lands—a goal which can be achieved through conservation easement, legal contracts allowing tax breaks or payments to landowners who give up development rights. Throughout the process, Middleton and Brashares urge the Biden administration to consider Indigenous models of conservation, acknowledging the displacement and marginalization that have often accompanied conservation efforts. The authors conclude that close collaboration between scientists and other stakeholders will be necessary for the 30 by 30 plan to be realized.
Read the Op-Ed here.