Leading the way to 30 percent by 2030
U.S. Senator Tom Udall, New Mexico
Tom Udall is carrying the torch for conservation through his work in the United States Senate, most recently by introducing the Senate resolution to protect 30 percent of American lands and waters by 2030. The resolution is an urgent call to action that is part of the Senator’s broader conservation strategy to protect public lands and wildlife.
As a respected member of the Senate, Tom Udall is an effective voice for leading the 30x30 effort to address the dual nature and climate crises. It’s clear that Tom Udall understands the urgency of protecting our lands and waters as well as the need to set the stage for the next 50 years of conservation in this country, starting with proactive and collaborative legislation to meet the challenges facing our public lands and environment.
Thanks to the diligent efforts of Tom Udall and conservation leaders across the country to protect and defend our nation’s public lands and bedrock environmental laws protecting our air, water, and wildlife, there is reason to hope that when we look back on the 2020s we will see it as a decade in which our leaders stepped up to meet the most pressing challenges of our time, including the dual threats of the climate and nature crises that are affecting our communities everyday.
Hear more from Tom Udall and learn more about his leadership
30x30 Resolution
Reflecting on the 50th Earth Day
10th Annual Conservation in the West Poll
Rep. Deb Haaland, New Mexico
After a lifetime of organizing communities to stand up for New Mexico families, Congresswoman Deb Haaland was elected as one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress.
She led a diverse coalition of House members to introduce the “Thirty by Thirty Resolution to Save Nature” in the House, the companion resolution to Senator Udall’s resolution in the Senate.
“Our communities deserve fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a livable planet, but right now inaction on climate change is putting everything at risk, particularly in communities of color… Conserving our lands and waters is essential to protecting humans and wildlife and stabilizing our climate, so I’m following the direction from leading scientists and introducing this resolution to set a national goal of conserving 30 percent of America’s land and oceans by 2030 to tackle this urgent crisis.”
- Rep. Deb Haaland, New Mexico
Hear more from Deb Haaland and learn more about her leadership
30x30 Resolution
We have a role to play to improve our environment
“I introduced the Thirty by Thirty Resolution to Save Nature, to set a national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of our land and water by 2030 because our existence depends on the preservation of our natural environment.”
— U.S. Senator Tom Udall, New Mexico
Additional 30x30 support and leadership
“The natural world produces everything we need, and for free. The entire planet is like a bank account where every living thing makes a different kind of deposit every single day.”
- Dr. Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence
“As we step into a new decade, governments and businesses have an unparalleled opportunity to take bold, decisive action to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity.”
- Sally Jewell, Former Interior Secretary
“This is an opportunity not only to protect the cultural landscapes and homelands of indigenous people, but also to reset the conservation model in a way that is inclusive of indigenous voices and traditional knowledge.”
- Kendall Edmo, Blackfeet tribal member & Center for Large Landscape Conservation Associate
“We can’t address climate change without focusing on conservation. Committing to conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and oceans by 2030 is exactly the kind of ambitious strategy we need to protect our wildlife and lands, and tackle this urgent crisis. Setting an aggressive, tangible conservation and climate goal has been a long-standing priority of mine, and I could not have asked for a better partner to advance this legislation. That’s why I am thrilled to be leading this resolution with Senator Udall today.”
- U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Colorado
“If we want to protect large landscapes and wildlife corridors, if we want to reach the 30x30 goals, we absolutely have to have elected leaders on board. I believe there is a huge opportunity for business to get behind the 30x30 effort… When we go to Capitol Hill, members of both parties are interested in the conversation. They want to know what the business community has to say.”
- Hans Cole, Patagonia Environmental Campaigns and Advocacy Director
Photographs by: Tom Udall, Senator for New Mexico (Header, Tom Udall, 30x30 Resolution), Tom Udall, Medium (Reflecting on the 50th Earth Day); National Wildlife Foundation (10th Annual Conservation in the West Poll); Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management (Quote); Congresswoman Deb Haaland (Deb Haaland. 30x30 Resolution, We have a role…); National Geographic (Enric Sala); The Nature Conservancy (Sally Jewell); Center for Large Landscape Conservation (Kendall Edmo); Michael Bennet, Senator for Colorado (Michael Bennet); The Conservation Alliance (Hans Cole)