President Biden at the Conservation Summit on March 21, 2023 Photo by Alex Cornell du Houx

On March 21, 2023, President Biden announced bold new actions to conserve and restore lands and waters across the nation at the White House Conservation in Action Summit. Alex Cornell du Houx, President of Elected Officials to Protect America was invited to the announcement. EOPA, working with veterans who are also elected officials, successfully encouraged lawmakers on Capitol Hill to fund the Land and Water Conservation Act in perpetuity.

“It’s an honor for EOPA to be invited to hear about these important conservation conservation efforts,” said Cornell du Houx. “Our National Parks, all our public lands are the people’s by birthright. The encapsulate the soul of our nation and have healed many souls who visit them. Protecting them, protects our future.”

The announcements included:

Establishing two new national monuments: Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, and Castner Range National Monument in Texas, protecting over half a million acres of public lands and honoring Tribal Nations and military veterans.

Initiating a new National Marine Sanctuary designation within the next 30 days to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands, a region with a rich ancestral tie to many Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities.

The first-ever Ocean Climate Action Plan, a groundbreaking roadmap to harness the power of the ocean to advance immediate, transformational steps to protect ocean health and address the climate crisis. 

New guidance to Federal agencies on how to better incorporate ecological connectivity and wildlife corridors into Federal planning and decision-making, to support collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitat across the country.

A dozen other new steps to conserve, restore, and expand access to lands and waters across the country, including tens of millions of new investments in conservation efforts.

The announcements build on more than two years of the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress and historic investments to advance conservation, restoration, and stewardship nationwide.

President Biden Administration’s is working to meet the first-ever national conservation goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.