Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior publicly released the report on the proposed 30x30 Initiative, "Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful." Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement in response:

“While I’m pleased this report is finally being released to the public, it is clear the Administration still has a lot of work ahead of them. The report lacks what we have been asking for all along: details about how they plan to achieve these seemingly arbitrary conservation goals and what their definition of ‘conservation’ really means.

Unilaterally locking up lands behind wilderness or national monument designations will not protect our communities from catastrophic wildfires, strengthen comprehensive ecosystems for endangered or threatened species, or automatically ensure clean air or water for generations to come.  We recognize we need real, commonsense solutions to ensure we can protect our resources while actively managing our lands. Rural communities throughout the West and beyond remain strongly committed to conservation, and the Western Caucus is working to strengthen their locally-led efforts.

America is beautiful, which is why we must continue to empower our local communities, farmers, ranchers, tribes, and landowners to keep it that way. The Administration needs to listen to the voices of rural America who will be directly impacted by these efforts.”