The White House this week declared its conservation agenda a success — crowning President Joe Biden with the highest acreage of land and waters protected by any president — even as environmentalists split over whether the administration’s ambitious “30×30” program fell short of its goals.
In a coda to Biden’s planned designation of two new national monuments Tuesday, the White House touted that the administration “protected” 674 million acres of public lands and waters over the past four years. The 30×30 program promised to establish protections for 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030.
“As President Biden completes his term, we can proudly say he has delivered on the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in U.S. history,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, wrote in an analysis published Tuesday.
“This work will continue, thanks to the ongoing and unwavering work of communities across the United States to protect our shared natural heritage for current and future generations,” she added.
