Voters Support Indigenous-led Conservation
By Julian Brave NoiseCat and Danielle Deiseroth
Just a week after taking office, President Biden issued an executive order directing the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to submit a report within 90 days recommending steps that the federal government should take to conserve 30 percent of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030. The initiative, modeled after a United Nations call to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030, is known in policy circles and the press as “30 by 30” (alternatively: “30x30”). Earlier this year, Data for Progress polling found that the 30 by 30 proposal was one of the most popular policies that then-Representative Deb Haaland could enact once confirmed as Interior Secretary. But much has changed since then: Representative Haaland is now Secretary Haaland, and the Biden Administration has rolled up its sleeves and gotten to work on key priorities like 30 by 30.
In early May, the Department of the Interior, alongside the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Council on Environmental Quality, delivered the report requested by the President outlining a set of policy 30 by 30 policy approaches drafted based on early listening sessions with state, local, and Tribal stakeholders. Key among these recommendations is the idea that sovereign Tribal Nations should play a leading role in the protection and governance of the lands and waters that their people have called home since time immemorial — an idea embodied by Secretary Haaland’s leadership of the Interior Department.
But what might voters make of these goals and policies? As part of a recent national survey, Data for Progress asked likely voters nationwide whether they support or oppose President Biden’s executive order to conserve 30 percent of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030. We also asked if they think Tribal Nations should be heavily involved and consulted in this initiative as recommended in the “America the Beautiful” report.
We find that support for conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters remains overwhelmingly popular across party lines. Two-thirds of all likely voters (66 percent) — including nearly all Democrats (84 percent) and a majority of Independents (62 percent) — support the 30 by 30 executive order. Notably, Republicans also support this executive order by a 12-point margin (50 percent support, 38 percent oppose).
Next, we provided voters with more background information about the “America the Beautiful” report and the recommendation that federal agencies honor the sovereignty of Tribal Nations and pursue Indigenous-led conservation as central pathways to conserving 30 percent of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030. Nearly three-quarters of all voters (71 percent) — including a bipartisan majority of Democrats (81 percent), Independents (70 percent), and Republicans (60 percent) — agree that government efforts to conserve and restore America’s lands and waters should involve “regular, meaningful, and robust conversation with Tribal Nations” as outlined in the report.
With broad bipartisan support, it is clear that voters support federal efforts to conserve 30 percent of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030 and want the government to prioritize Tribal Nations as key stakeholders and partners in this initiative. The 30 by 30 initiative will not only protect our nation’s biodiversity and support jobs, but also take meaningful steps to address centuries of injustices against Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. With the Interior Department under Secretary Deb Haaland’s leadership, we feel confident that the 30 by 30 initiative will protect the splendor of our nation’s biodiversity, combat the climate crisis using our natural resources, and address systemic environmental injustices.
Julian Brave NoiseCat (@jnoisecat) is the Vice President of Policy & Strategy at Data for Progress.
Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is the Senior Climate Data Analyst at Data for Progress.
Methodology
From May 14 to 17, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,214 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.