Environmental News Network - The U.S. is Committed to Conservation. Now, How Do we Do it?

Details: By Michigan State University; 12.Jan

When the U.S. government committed last January to conserving 30% of the United States’ natural land and water by the year 2030, the decision was embraced by the majority of Americans.

Cheryl Porter

When the U.S. government committed last January to conserving 30% of the United States’ natural land and water by the year 2030, the decision was embraced by the majority of Americans. A poll found that 80% of voters supported what’s known as the “30 by 30 plan” but questions remain about how to decide which pieces of nature should be protected to reach that goal.

Now, Michigan State University ecologists are part of a team that’s sharing data to help inform those choices throughout the U.S. and beyond. Their research identified North America’s climate change refugia, habitats that will be the most likely to support the persistence of the greatest amount of biodiversity in the face of a changing climate.

The team also included researchers at the National Audubon Society, the University of East Anglia in England and James Cook University in Australia. They released their work Jan. 11 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

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The U.S. is Committed to Conservation. Now, How Do we Do it?