Talking Points on 30 by 30

By Alex Epstein

Anti-development policies on America's federal lands have created crisis after crisis: from forests with deadly "fuel loads" to dependence on China for vital materials. The Biden Administration's anti-development "30 by 30" plan would make our public lands crisis far worse.

Quick Summary

Imagine that as a large landowner you hire a property manager whose policies lead to: a failure to do proper maintenance, huge opportunities squandered, and catastrophic fires.
You'd fire that person and immediately change policies. That needs to happen with our federal lands.

For decades America's federal lands, which were supposed to be managed to allow commercial development of resources, recreation, and enjoyment of nature, have been mismanaged by anti-development policies--policies based on the idea that all human impact on nature is bad.

Last summer, we witnessed in California just how dangerous anti-development policies can be. Policies that prevented controlled burns, debris clearing, and logging brought forest "fuel loads" to catastrophically dangerous levels.1

Anti-development policies on federal lands are a huge reason why America is completely dependent on China for vital Rare Earth elements. Our federal lands contain ample supplies of Rare Earths, but mining for them has been virtually criminalized.

Perhaps if government wasn't so focused on stopping development on federal lands, it wouldn't have an enormous, $10+ billion dollar maintenance backlog for America's national parks.2

The mismanagement of federal lands under anti-development policies is a complete crisis for our economy, safety, and environmental quality.

Yet instead of calling for radical reform and embracing responsible development, Joe Biden is calling for no development on 30% of America!

Joe Biden's "30 by 30" initiative would make 30% of America's land and water "conservation areas," which means no development at all. Currently, 12% of land and 23% of water are off-limits. If this is already causing catastrophic fires and economic destruction, what will 30% do?

Americans must make clear in no uncertain terms to Congress and this Administration that we demand radical, pro-responsible-development reform. They must take responsibility for the anti-development public lands crisis, not double down on it with the disastrous "30 by 30" plan.

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