Washington, D.C. — In response to the first request for proposals for the America the Beautiful Challenge announced by the Biden-Harris administration today, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from LCV Senior Government Affairs Advocate Ben Alexandro:

“Accelerating conservation efforts is an important step towards meeting and exceeding the goal of protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030 and we welcome today’s announcement from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on this first round of funding to award up to $85 million in grants toward these local conservation and restoration projects. We must support locally led ecosystem restoration projects that invest in watershed restoration, resilience, equitable access, workforce development, corridors and connectivity, and collaborative conservation to address our planet’s climate and biodiversity crisis. We applaud the Biden administration’s focus on prioritizing Tribal and Indigenous-led efforts as well as efforts consistent with the President’s Justice40 Initiative and look forward to working with the administration to continue to accelerate the pace of nature conservation, including the president using his powers under the Antiquities Act to designate new areas such as Castner Range and Avi Kwa Ame as national monuments.”

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