The White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced the release of a report on two virtual tribal consultation sessions and written comments received from tribes regarding needs, interests, and working together on the 30×30 conservation effort.
Input addressed in the summary includes areas such as the conservation and climate contributions of tribally-managed lands and waters, defining and improving funding for co-management, improving communications, consultation, and transparency creating opportunities for tribal leadership in conservation, using education to improve co-management and conservation practices, honoring treaties and expanding conservation for critical off-reservation resources, strengthening the National Historic Preservation Act, and incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into conservation programs.
Specific feedback highlighted in the report includes “the urgency of designating Indigenous protected areas” and the need to “establish more Marine Protected Areas,” with specific suggestions including the Norton Bay Protection Area, the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, Southeast Alaska, the Pribilof Islands Marine Ecosystem (PRIME), the Columbia Basin, Pacific Northwest-Columbia River Estuary, Columbia Basin tributary freshwaters, Columbia Basin Basalt aquifers and floodplains, and Columbia Basin watershed uplands.
As to next steps, the report noted that staff would share feedback with relevant agencies and groups, consult with tribes on specific projects, initiate regional consultations as needed and on an ad hoc basis, and host follow-up nationwide consultations on specific issues and questions.
