America the Beautiful

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“The America the Beautiful initiative reflects an inherently pragmatic approach that puts people at the center and outlines an inclusive and collaborative vision where locally led efforts to conserve, steward, and restore lands and waters will help us reach our shared goals.” 

— Secretary Deb Haaland 

At the Department of the Interior, we know that nature is essential to the health, well-being, and prosperity of every family and every community in America. From the bounty of the Great Plains and vast coastal forests to the high deserts of the Southwest and beyond, our lands and waters define who we are and who we, as a nation, want to be.

As directed by President Biden’s Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the Department of the Interior has partnered with agencies across the federal government to advance an inclusive and collaborative conservation vision.

President Biden has issued a call to action that we work together to conserve, connect, and restore at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 for the sake of our economy, our health, and our well-being.

To meet the moment, the Biden-Harris administration has launched America the Beautiful, a decade-long challenge to pursue a locally led and voluntary, nationwide effort to conserve, connect, and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife upon which we all depend. The key principles that are guiding our conservation efforts include:

• Pursuing a collaborative and inclusive approach to conservation;
• Conserving America’s lands and waters for the benefit of all people;
• Supporting locally led and locally designed conservation efforts;
• Honoring Tribal sovereignty and supporting the priorities of Tribal Nations;
• Pursuing conservation and restoration approaches that create jobs and support healthy communities;
• Honoring private property rights and supporting the voluntary stewardship efforts of private landowners;
• Using science as a guide; and
• Building on existing tools and strategies with an emphasis on flexibility and adaptive approaches.

To help facilitate these goals, the Biden-Harris administration launched a $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge to leverage federal conservation and restoration investments with private and philanthropic contributions to accelerate land, water, and wildlife conservation efforts across the country. These grants support projects that conserve, restore and connect habitats for wildlife while improving community resilience and access to nature. 

These efforts build upon the existing investments made through the Great American Outdoors Act to support the creation of more parks and increased access to the outdoors and nature-based recreation in historically underrepresented communities while creating jobs that support restoration and resilience. The initiative also prioritizes supporting Tribally led conservation and restoration priorities, as well as expanding collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitats and corridors.

We will continue to undertake this process with broad engagement, including agricultural and forest landowners, fishers, outdoor enthusiasts, Tribal Nations, States, territories, local officials, and other important partners and stakeholders to identify strategies that reflect the priorities of all communities. We recognize that rewarding voluntary conservation efforts of fishers, ranchers, farmers, and forest owners is integral to this effort.

In addition to evaluating how to best assess the country’s progress toward this ambitious and urgent goal, we will also look for ways to achieve more equitable access to nature and its benefits for all people in America – no matter their zip code.

The President’s goal of conserving at least 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030 is more than a number— it is a challenge to build on the nation’s best conservation traditions, to be faithful to principles that reflect the country’s values, and to improve the quality of Americans’ lives — now and for decades to come.

Resources:

• 2023 Annual Report
• 2022 Annual Report 
• 2022 American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas Listening Sessions 
• 2022 Announcement of America the Beautiful Challenge Grant Recipients
• May 2021 Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful Report
• 2021 Annual Report 
• Conservation.gov

More information can also be found on the co-lead agencies webpages:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Council on Environmental Quality | The White House
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | U.S. Department of Commerce

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