The Department of the Interior, along with the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Council on Environmental Quality recently announced the creation of the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas.
"The Atlas is intended to be an accessible, updated, and comprehensive tool through which to measure the progress of conservation, stewardship, and restoration efforts across the United States in a manner that reflects the goals and principles of the America the Beautiful initiative. The 60-day comment period will provide members of the public an opportunity to inform how the Atlas can reflect a continuum of conservation actions, recognizing that many uses of lands and waters can be consistent with the long-term health of natural systems and contribute to addressing climate change and environmental injustices," a Jan. 3 press release stated.
The creation and use of the Atlas is part of the America the Beautiful Initiative, which encourages communities to take action and help conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
"Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help support the America the Beautiful initiative," according to the release. "The law provides the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history, funds water management and drought resilience, addresses legacy pollution from orphan wells and abandoned mines, and makes major investments in clean drinking water."
More information about the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas is available in the Federal Register. The public can make comments before March 4.
Three 90-minute public listening sessions have also been scheduled. The sessions will be live streamed on the DOI website events page. To register for one of the sessions, click one of the links below and follow the instructions.
