Extractive industries keep leaving toxic messes across the West. Will history continue to repeat itself? The Western United States has a long history of extractive industrial activity. Since the 1800s, westward colonization has both driven and relied upon the...
A new report from the Center for Western Priorities finds that bills to protect over 16 million acres of public land in the West are currently languishing in Congress. Protecting these landscapes would bring the nation closer to achieving the goal of conserving 30...
President Joe Biden has the opportunity to build on the legacy of Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama by designating national monuments that honor the stories of Black, Native American, and Latino people in the U.S.
Learn more about the history of cultural national monuments designated using the Antiquities Act as well as the proposed monuments President Biden could designate right now using the Act.
Report finds wilderness-quality lands are nearly 3 TIMES less likely to be managed to protect those characteristics if they are overlapped by oil and gas leases—even if those leases are purely speculative and are not being drilled.
One of the many ways we can reach the 30×30 goal is through creating and expanding national monuments. National monuments demonstrate how we can turn the 30×30 principles into action, combining local conservation efforts with the resources necessary to manage and protect them. Check out five special places in the American West that could be America’s next national monument.
The Center for Western Priorities’ digital interactive report on the oil industry’s public lands stockpile examines the millions of acres of idle leases stockpiled by the oil and gas industry. The report maps out oil and gas leases and finds that the oil industry is currently sitting on 9.9 million acres of idle leases across ten Western states—47.4 percent of all leases in the region.
Reaching the goal of protecting 30% of America by 2030 will require grassroots efforts and local involvement in planning and management. State parks are a prime example of locally-led conservation efforts. This report is part of our larger “Road to 30” interactive storymap series.
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is a landmark effort to conserve the iconic California desert and focus renewable energy development in suitable areas—a consensus plan with overwhelming support. As the country strives toward the 30×30 goal, the DRECP can serve as a case study of successful multiple-use planning to combat both the climate and nature crises. This report is part of our larger “Road to 30” interactive storymap series.
Private land conservation is key to reaching the goal of protecting 30% of America by 2030 and solving the climate and nature crises. But in order to expand private land conservation, we need to refine and improve how we invest in it, from conservation easements and data to community-oriented conservation efforts and partnerships. This report is part of our larger “Road to 30” interactive storymap series.
Wildlife corridors are the routes along which wildlife move through their habitats—whether those paths are local or regional. As we work to protect 30% of America by 2030, it is key that ecological connectivity is preserved and centered in the effort. Conserving wildlife corridors is one way to do that. This report is part of our larger “Road to 30” interactive storymap series.