President Joe Biden's 30x30 land conservation plan is "unattainable" because its goals are undefined, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) told U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams during a May 16 hearing.
“Don't you have to have a definition of conservation to be able to say 30 percent of the United States is conserved?" the senator asked Williams. "Don’t you have to have a definition of that before you can even reach that goal? You can never get to 30 percent because if you're going to change the definitions you don't even know if you've ever reached there."
The 30x30 plan was established by the Biden Administration as a nationwide conservation project. Its goal entails the conservation of at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted multiple investigations and issued several reports, consistently finding that the government lacks comprehensive knowledge about the extent of its property holdings, according to Greg Walcher, president of the Natural Resources Group, Federal Newswire reported.These findings highlight the government's limited understanding of the precise locations, management responsibilities, condition, and utilization of its owned properties, the story said.
During congressional hearings almost two decades ago, the Interior Department acknowledged using more than 100 diverse systems for property management, and no consolidation has occurred since then, the story said. No federal department nor the General Services Administration (GSA), which is responsible for managing government properties, could provide precise testimony regarding the exact extent of its property ownership.
According to the Walcher, the GSA lacks the ability to make informed decisions regarding the disposal or retention of surplus properties primarily due to its inability to accurately quantify them. The GAO conducted a study that approximated the existence of 77,000 unnecessary government buildings.
Williams' response to Rickett's inquiry was deemed "evasive" because it did not provide a direct answer but instead listed the principles underlying the 30×30 goal, according to the group American Stewards. This response highlights the ongoing lack of transparency from the administration in sharing information with the American public, American Stewards said.
