Tuesday, May 11, 2021

DOI release on Biden's 30 by 30 scheme

Today the Biden-Harris administration outlined a vision for how the United States can work collaboratively to conserve and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife that support and sustain the nation. The recommendations are contained in a report released today, outlining a locally led and voluntary nationwide conservation goal to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The report calls for a decade-long effort to support locally led and voluntary conservation and restoration efforts across public, private, and Tribal lands and waters in order to create jobs and strengthen the economy’s foundation; tackle the climate and nature crises; and address inequitable access to the outdoors. The report, submitted to the National Climate Task Force, was developed by the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. It outlines eight principles that should guide the nationwide effort, including a pursuit of collaborative approaches; a commitment to supporting the voluntary conservation efforts of farmers, ranchers, and fishers; and honoring of Tribal sovereignty and private property rights.

... Based on feedback gathered in the Administration’s first 100 days, the report identifies six priority areas for the administration’s early focus, investments, and collaboration:

  • Creating more parks and safe outdoor opportunities in nature-deprived communities.
  • Supporting Tribally led conservation and restoration priorities.
  • Expanding collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitats and corridors.
  • Increasing access for outdoor recreation.
  • Incentivizing and rewarding the voluntary conservation efforts of fishers, ranchers, farmers, and forest owners.
  • Creating jobs by investing in restoration and resilience projects and initiatives, including the Civilian Climate Corps.
The Biden-Harris administration is already taking steps to support outdoor recreation and equitable access to the outdoors:
  • In late April, USDA expanded the Conservation Reserve Program by offering new incentives, higher rental rates, and more focused attention on sensitive lands with a goal of enrolling 4 million acres and capturing 3.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in this voluntary conservation program.
  • This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal for the largest expansion in recent history of hunting and sport fishing opportunities for game species across 2.1 million acres at 90 national wildlife refuges and on the lands of one national fish hatchery. 
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, nearly tripling the size of the sanctuary and protecting 14 reefs and banks that are habitat for recreationally important fish.
  • In the coming days, the National Park Service will announce $150 million in funding for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program, which helps build parks in underserved communities.
  • NOAA is working in partnership with the State of Connecticut to create a living classroom for education, research, and recreation by designating a National Estuarine Research Reserve in Long Island Sound. The final designation paperwork is expected by January 2022, which will make it the 30th estuary reserve in the national system...Press Release

Damn, they couldn't even get past the first sentence without using some form of collaborate. It pops up again in the fourth sentence, and at least twice more. 
They have all the other magic words too, right here in one press release:
vision, conserve, restore, locally led, voluntary, sustain, nature-deprived communities, corridors and outdoor recreation.

Go to the report and you will find additional magic words such as inclusive, for the benefit of all the people, healthy communities, science, environmental injustice, land-cover changes, loss of open space, common purpose...it is all here folks, every left-wing, environmental bromide you can recall.

What will America gain from these changes? Oh, no too much, it will just:

...create jobs and strengthen the economy’s foundation; tackle the climate and nature crises; and address inequitable access to the outdoors.

The report goes further, claiming 

The investments in restoration, reforestation, reclamation, and other activities that improve the function and form of our natural systems—from the Everglades and the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake Bay—will not only bolster our nation’s resilience to extreme wildfires, sea level rise, droughts, storms, and other climate impacts, but they will also create a new pathway to good-paying union jobs and provide economic benefits to communities across the nation." 

Each time an acre of land passes from the private sector to federal ownership or control, our resilience to wildfire is greatly improved, droughts will lessen, sea levels will not rise, storms and other climate impacts will be less severe. Not only that, in addition each time an acre is transferred from the private sector to the oink sector, "good paying union jobs" will be created and the economic benefits to communities will occur across the entire nation!

Why didn't someone think of this before? Actually someone has, and Russia is way ahead of us on this progressive path to prosperity.

There is the issue of nature-deprived communities.  The report described these as "communities of color and low-income communities" and states they "have disproportionately less access to nature’s benefits." In addition they found that an "estimated 100 million Americans do not have a park within a ten-minute walk of their home." That is shocking!

Let's take at what is really being attempted here. These same communities deserve decent nutrition so we have a food stamps. They must have shelter, so we have low-income housing programs. They have economic issues so we have welfare programs. All Americans deserve access to healthcare so we have Medicaid. Now we find out they are nature-deprived. You see where this is heading? This whole thing is a setup to create a PEP program, a Park in Every Precinct. FDR had his Chicken in Every Pot and now Biden will have his Park in Every Precinct. Some may believe this is a wonderful, kind-hearted attempt invoke nature to the benefit of these groups and planet earth. Others of us recognize it for what it is: the establishing of another entitlement program and a way to funnel part of these climate funds to urban districts. 

Throughout the press release and the report, you will continually find "locally led" when describing these new programs. One chapter of the report is titled,  "Support Locally Led and Locally Designed Conservation Efforts." Finally, we have an administration that recognizes local decisions are the best decisions. That is what you would think, unless you actually read the report. Therein, you will find the following passage:

To better support and encourage locally led conservation and restoration efforts across the country, however, it will be important for Federal agencies to identify areas of priority and focus for investment and collaboration. 

 Submit all the locally led and locally designed plans you want, but the feds will determine which are high priority and which one of those will be funded. They want local input, as long as they meet the criteria ordained by the feds. If the feds control the rating and funding, they control the whole program.

The enviros know they are politically vulnerable because of a lack of minorities in their organizations and because minority visits to federal lands are way below their percentage of the population. Government studies show the typical visitor to a wilderness area is an upper-income white male with an advanced degree. The enviros have started several different well-funded programs in an attempt involve more minorities in these issues, with little to show for their efforts.

So the answer is simple: If they won't visit the parks then bring the parks to them!  A PEP program does more than bring federal jobs and dollars to urban districts. It will also benefit the enviros, who will now have a captured audience to sell their wares to and a guaranteed increase in minority participation.    

1 comment:

Paul D. Butler said...

EXACTLY Frank.......government land theft has negative consequences......regardless of the words used.