In furtherance of the Biden administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative to conserve at least 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030, NOAA has announced that it will hold two public listening sessions to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to learn about the initiative and provide input on how the agency should “use existing legal authorities to conserve and restore America’s oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.”
The announcement notes that NOAA will ”work with all stakeholders…to identify areas or networks of areas where their fisheries management or resource management efforts would support long-term conservation goals.”
The listening sessions will take place on Thursday, Aug. 26 and Monday, Sept. 13 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET. NOPC will attend both sessions and provide comments during the second session. Draft NOPC comments for the second session will be circulated for member review in early September.
