State-level conservation action sparks hope for nature

Recent headlines about the state of our planet’s health have been pretty grim. Over one-third of animal and plant species in the U.S. are now at risk of extinction. Climate change is accelerating, and we’re losing a football field’s worth of natural area to development every 30 seconds. Meanwhile, political news out of Washington can make it seem like there’s a bitter partisan divide over whether or not to protect more land, water and wildlife—obscuring the strong support for conservation that Democrats and Republicans share. Thankfully, there’s hope. In state capitals around the country, leaders are stepping up and demonstrating how the nation can tackle the nature crisis head-on.

Responding to calls to address biodiversity loss and inequities in nature access, President Joe Biden in 2021 launched his America the Beautiful initiative to conserve 30% of all U.S. lands and waters by 2030, in partnership with communities, Tribes and other leaders. Record federal conservation and restoration investments followed, along with new national protections for lands and waters and major reforms that promise to modernize how America manages public lands. But successfully slowing nature loss and addressing long standing inequities in access to natural spaces will require actions at other levels, too.

A new report from the Center for American Progress and the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators identifies how states and territories across the U.S. are generating innovative conservation solutions for the benefit of communities and wildlife. Elected leaders have been buoyed in these efforts by strong local support and repeated success on conservation ballot initiatives. With solutions tailored to their states, these leaders are collectively building a menu of policies that could turn the tide of nature loss.

For example, a number of states have set ambitious conservation targets and are developing their own conservation strategies to reach them. States like California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont have all committed to goals that mirror the 2030 targets set by national and international organizations. In California, the state’s “30x30” initiative to conserve 30% of its lands and coastal waters by 2030 catalyzed extensive public outreach and partnerships. Leaders developed a statewide strategy, launched a public dashboard for tracking progress and garnered over $2 billion in related funding—including new funds dedicated to Tribes. 

Other states have also made major conservation investments in recent years. Last year, New Mexico established its first-ever dedicated funds to conserve threatened landscapes, improve recreation access and protect cultural heritage sites. Earlier this year, the state invested another $300 million to that end. Meanwhile, Georgia established a dedicated funding stream for conservation projects in 2018, Colorado expanded tax credits for private land conservation in 2021, Texas voters approved $1 billion for state parks in 2023 and Florida’s legislature invested over $1 billion between 2021 and 2023 to complete a critical wildlife corridor.

Meanwhile, some states and Tribal Nations are partnering to co-manage culturally and historically significant lands, as Michigan and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe did in 2019 for Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park. In other states, leaders are pursuing opportunities to return land directly back to its original stewards, such as with Minnesota’s Upper Sioux Agency State Park.

While recent conservation momentum from states and territories is encouraging, still more is needed and possible. Scaling up impact in the face of extinction and climate crises combined with growing pressures on state budgets and other challenges, will take even deeper commitment from state leaders, local advocates, federal partners and private philanthropy.

Collaboration will be key. While states should continue to innovate, leaders can also learn from and invest in models that have proven successful. Recognizing that forests and wildlife don’t stop at state lines, states can consider regional approaches that conserve lands at the scale needed for wildlife to thrive. Similarly, as the climate and nature crises collide, policies can prioritize joint solutions to conserve resilient lands and harness the natural abilities of forests and wetlands to store carbon and buffer communities. Finally, leaders in Washington must build on recent investments that enable more states, territories and Tribes to lead, like the America the Beautiful Challenge grants.

Late last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would be removing 21 species from its endangered list—not because they’d been saved, but because they had already gone extinct. We can all do our part by choosing to kindle hope and support progress at all levels. Nature loss is playing out in all 50 states and beyond, and the solutions must be shared too—from the White House to the statehouse to our own backyards.

Drew McConville is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress and former official at the White House Council of Environmental Quality.  Kate Burgess is a conservation program manager with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.