The White House today announced the release of the inaugural progress report on implementation of the administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, as well the upcoming establishment of the Marine and Coastal Area-Based Management Federal Advisory Committee and Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council as a Federal Advisory Committee.
As to the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, the administration will launch a 60-day public comment period in Q1 2022 to inform the Atlas’ development, with a goal of releasing a beta version of the Atlas by the end of 2022.
NOAA will establish the Marine and Coastal Area-Based Management Federal Advisory Committee to provide advice on science-based approaches to area-based marine, coastal, and Great Lakes protection, conservation, restoration, and management.
Stating that “[m]any successful efforts that provide significant benefits for improving equity, combating climate change, or supporting wildlife populations may not be captured by a national data portal,” the report says that the Atlas “should be considered additive—not determinative—to help inform and improve the nation’s collective understanding of existing strategies and additional opportunities to support communities in their efforts to conserve, protect, connect, and restore lands and waters.”
In addressing actions to date, the progress report among other things cited “restored protections” for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, designation of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, re-proclamation of the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, the proposed designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, and the proposed designation of national estuarine research reserves in Wisconsin and Louisiana.
The report also noted the establishment earlier this year of the 17-member America the Beautiful Interagency Working Group, co-chaired by the Council on Environmental Quality Chair and Secretaries of Commerce, Interior, and Agriculture, as well as its Collaborative Conservation and Engagement Committee and Measurement Committee.
Additionally, the report cited concerns about polar bears and noted that some of the 259 marine mammal stocks currently tracked are increasing or stable while others are declining, cited vessel strikes as a significant threat to marine mammals, noted that 92% of fish stocks with known status in marine habitats are fished at a sustainable harvest level and a significant decline in recent decades in the number of overfishing and overfished stocks in marine habitats, and discussed threats to coral reefs and kelp forests.
