The White House today announced the establishment and inaugural meeting of the 25-member “America the Beautiful Interagency Working Group.” Co-chaired by Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, Interior Sec. Deb Haaland, Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack, and Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo, the group was created to coordinate federal efforts to implement the Biden administration’s initiative to conserve and restore at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
During the meeting, among other things the Working Group discussed progress to date and the importance of coordination to expand support for collaborative, locally-led efforts, highlighted NOAA actions including stakeholder listening sessions, convening of a subcommittee of the Fishery Management Council Coordinating Committee, and sanctuary expansions, discussed efforts underway to collaborate and engage stakeholders on voluntary, locally-driven efforts on private and working lands, and highlighted conservation-related elements of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would provide funding for EPA Geographic Programs and the National Estuary Program.
The Working Group will meet quarterly, with current agency members including the White House Domestic Policy Council, Climate Policy Office, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Office of Management & Budget, NOAA, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The White House noted that membership will expand further in order to achieve “an all-of-government approach.”
