Two key portions of Victory Hill, a remarkable 1,230-acre property in the Northeast Kingdom known for world-class recreation opportunities and its role within a surrounding “biological hotspot” have been permanently
Two key portions of Victory Hill, a remarkable 1,230-acre property in the Northeast Kingdom known for world-class recreation opportunities and its role within a surrounding “biological hotspot” have been permanently
American Farmland Trust on Tuesday released “Agriculture’s Role in 30×30: Partnering with Farmers and Ranchers to Protect Land, Biodiversity, and the Climate,” outlining agriculture’s role in the effort to “conserve at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030” as put forth in the Biden administration’s executive order Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
AFT recommends that the Biden administration take the following actions in support of the 30×30 initiative:
▪ Commit to protecting and conserving 30% of working farmland and ranchland by 2030 (including permanently protecting 5% of working land with agricultural conservation easements).
▪ Take immediate action to accelerate working lands protection and biodiversity conservation using USDA’s existing programs and authorities.
In the effort to reach the 30×30 goals for biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation called for under the Biden administration’s January executive order on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad, the American Farmland Trust called for policies of voluntary, incentive-based and locally-led conservation.
Roughly 60% of the land in the United States is privately owned and many, if not most, wildlife species rely on these lands for habitat and foraging. Although the areas of greatest biodiversity and carbon sequestration are mostly composed of private lands – such as rangelands, grasslands, and private forests – only a fraction of privately held land is protected. About seven million acres, or less than 1% of our agricultural land, is permanently protected.