June 3, 2021- 8:10 p.m.
Biden’s Executive Order 14008, issued Jan. 27, includes a section directing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture and other heads of agencies to achieve “30 by 30” – the goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
This executive order on climate change is aimed at reducing pollution, promoting a greener environment and tackling the climate crisis. But the 30 by 30 plan tucked inside the order has raised concern among Kansas farmers and ranchers, many thinking the government might take their land.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, and Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, introduced the “30 x 30 Termination Act,” which blocks the Biden Administration’s 30 by 30 directive within the President’s executive order. This bill mirrors the bill that U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado introduced in the House of Representatives.
This legislation would prohibit funds from going toward this initiative and would not allow the federal government to take non-federal land in counties and states that already contain 15% or more federal land.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, supports this initiative, but they are taking it one step further by introducing the HR3314 – ‘‘No Land Grab Act 5 of 2021″ – and a companion bill S. 1682 – This bill blocks the 30 by 30 portion of the executive order.
The executive order remains open-ended
In April, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack said absolutely no land will be taken from any farmer or rancher because of this order. He said this order wants to incentivize farmers and ranchers to use the tools that he has at the USDA to compensate and pay farmers for being good stewards of their land.
But Kansas legislators remain concerned, as the order remains open-ended.
“Protecting private property rights from federal government overreach is a top priority of Kansans,” Moran said in a release. “While I have long supported voluntary, locally-driven conservation efforts, this legislation would put a stop to the Biden administration’s misguided 30 by 30 plan that threatens to expand federal land ownership and control.”
More than 98% of land in Kansas is privately owned. It is still unknown as to how the 30% rule will affect the farmland and prairie in the Sunflower State. Along with farmland and forest, thousands of acres designated for multiple-use or economic development may also be at risk.
“This initiative is further proof of the clear disconnect between the left and those who feed, fuel and clothe the world,” said Marshall in a release. “Farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists, and no one knows what’s best for the land better than those who work on it day in and day out. The best thing the federal government can do is trust the environmental judgment of farmers and ranchers and let them do what they do best: steward the land.”
According to Boebert, The federal government already manages 640 million acres of land and more than 750 million acres of water. She, along with the other legislators are concerned that the 30 by 30 plan will lay claim to an additional 681 million acres of land and water. This would be a landmass larger than Alaska.
About 12% of U.S. land is under conservation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Many public lands fall short of conservation measures. Because the 30 by 30 plan’s actions are not specifically stated in the executive order or elsewhere, legislators are taking action to prevent what they deem to be a land grab of privately held property.
“It is egregious that the Biden Administration would consider a proposal like 30 by 30 that has the potential to strip away Kansans’ private property rights to meet an arbitrary climate goal,” said Mann in a release. “Additionally, no consideration was given to current voluntary conservation initiatives that are already underway in Kansas and rural America. Our legislation works to protect Kansas agriculture and prevent progressive overreach.”
