Conservation or Land Grab? In Four Years, the Biden Administration "Protected" 674 Million Acres.

This was part of Biden's "America the Beautiful" initiative to conserve 30% of the nation's land and water by 2030.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Kanab, Utah

During his four years in office, President Joe Biden placed 674 million acres under federal protection as part of his so-called 30x30 initiative. This number of protected acres marks a presidential record, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress.

Early in his term, Biden announced the launch of his “America the Beautiful” program or 30x30. This program set out to conserve 30% of America’s lands and waters by the year 2030.

Biden’s administration locked up millions of acres from “extractive” industries such as oil and gas, including 28 million acres in Alaska. His government added protections to 625 million acres of coastline preventing future oil and gas leases.

Also during his term, the Bureau of Land Management pushed for a “conservation” land use that would allow interested non-profits and third parties to apply for a federal lease with the BLM with the purpose of “conserving” it—i.e. abandoning it. In other words, under President Biden, the BLM would officially recognize non-use as a valid “use” of natural resources for the first time in American history.

14 New, Expanded, or Restored National Monuments

Biden’s protection efforts include 14 new, expanded, or restored national monuments totaling almost 9 million acres. National monument designations under the National Park Service are extremely restrictive, often resulting in total shutdown of access to the public.

In my interview with Arizona rancher Casey Murph after Biden announced National Monument protections on 1 million acres in Arizona, Murph described just how restrictive these designations are in practice:

What we have seen from the designation of National Monuments before, especially in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, is an almost complete shutdown of the land, ranchers evicted, roads mechanically destroyed, hunting and fishing camping restricted. Proponents of this new Monument claim that will not be the case this time, and that only mining will be restricted. But we have learned that this is often an assurance made when the Monument is first made, and within a short time the land is shut down to public use and access.

Removing “Barriers” for Fish Travel Means Destroying Water Infrastructure for Rural Americans

The Center for American Progress report also highlights Biden’s record conservation spending, including $157 million for the National Fish Passage program to “reconnect” 4500 miles of rivers and streams. This Forest Service program is dedicated to removing “barriers” including dams to improve fish travel.

Removing dams often means destroying reliable sources of water for residents and agriculture, as is the case in Mendocino County, where officials are moving toward decommissioning and destroying a 100 year-old dam system that provides water for 600,000 residents in a rural, fire-prone region.

Conservation or Confiscation?

Locking up land away from American access reflects an anti-human ideology set on separating human beings from nature.

As I wrote several months ago, Biden’s presidency was marked by an extremely ideological, anti-human vision for land and resource management.

Politicians tend to tokenize working Americans for votes. President Biden enacted policies that washed the West of its traditional industries, appointing officials who despise tradesmen. After paying lip service to producers, his administration sought to gut their livelihoods.

If these agencies cannot serve Americans, they do not deserve public trust or power over the lands and resources we share.

A new administration is on its way, and we will be watching. President Donald Trump and his cabinet appointees should bring back a conservation ethos in which government agencies exist to serve the people who serve the land.