IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 835 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Gov-
ernment should establish a national goal of conserving at least 30 percent 
of the land and ocean of the United States by 2030. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2020 
Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. 
GALLEGO, and Mr. CASE) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Federal Government should establish a national goal 
of conserving at least 30 percent of the land and ocean 
of the United States by 2030. 
Whereas access to public land, nature, and a healthy environ-
ment should be a right for all people, as that access is 
essential to the health, well-being, identity, cultures, and 
economic prosperity of the United States; 
Whereas the United States faces a conservation and climate 
crisis, with nature in a steep decline and greenhouse gas 
emissions not declining at the rate scientists say is need-
ed in the United States and worldwide; 
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•HRES 835 IH 
Whereas scientists are documenting a rapid loss of natural 
areas and wildlife in the United States and throughout 
the world, including— 
(1) a finding that, from 2001 to 2017, a quantity 
of natural areas equal to the size of a football field dis-
appeared to development every 30 seconds in the United 
States, constituting more than 1,500,000 acres per year; 
(2) a finding, published in the journal ‘‘Science’’, 
that 
the 
United 
States 
and 
Canada 
have 
lost 
2,900,000,000 birds since 1970, representing a decline of 
29 percent; 
(3) the identification by State fish and game agen-
cies of approximately 12,000 animal and plant species in 
the United States that require proactive conservation ef-
forts to avoid extinction, of which approximately 1⁄3 will 
be lost in the next decades; 
(4) a finding by the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service that the United States has lost more than 1⁄2 of 
all freshwater and saltwater wetlands in the contiguous 
48 States; and 
(5) the 2019 findings by the Intergovernmental 
Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem 
Services that— 
(A) human activities are damaging 2⁄3 of ocean 
areas; 
(B) only 3 percent of ocean areas remain pris-
tine; 
(C) 15 percent of mangroves remain; 
(D) 50 percent of coral reefs remain; and 
(E) at the current rate of losses, less than 10 
percent of the Earth will be free of substantial 
human impact by 2050; 
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•HRES 835 IH 
Whereas climate change is accelerating the decline of nature 
in the United States; 
Whereas the Third National Climate Assessment found that 
climate change— 
(1) is reducing the ability of ecosystems to provide 
clean water and regulate water flows; 
(2) is limiting the ability of nature to buffer commu-
nities against disasters such as fires, storms, and floods, 
which disproportionately impacts communities of color 
and indigenous populations; and 
(3) is having far-reaching effects on marine and ter-
restrial wildlife, including by altering habitats, forcing 
changes to migratory patterns, and altering the timing of 
biological events; 
Whereas the decline of natural areas and wildlife in the 
United States follows global patterns, as the Intergovern-
mental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Eco-
system Services found that approximately 1,000,000 
plant and animal species are threatened by extinction 
over the coming decades as a result of land conversion, 
development, climate change, invasive species, pollution, 
and other stressors; 
Whereas nature, like the climate, is nearing a tipping point 
where the continued loss and degradation of the natural 
environment will— 
(1) push many ecosystems and wildlife species past 
the point of no return; 
(2) threaten the health and economic prosperity of 
the United States; and 
(3) increase the costs of natural disasters, for which 
the Federal Government spent about $91,000,000,000 in 
2018; 
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•HRES 835 IH 
Whereas the existing protections for land, the ocean, and 
wildlife in the United States are not sufficient to prevent 
a further decline of nature in the United States, with— 
(1) only 12 percent of the land area in the United 
States permanently protected, mostly in Alaska and the 
West; and 
(2) only 26 percent of Federal ocean territory per-
manently protected, the vast majority of which is in the 
remote western Pacific Ocean or northwestern Hawaii; 
Whereas the United States has historically demonstrated 
leadership and resolve to protect, conserve, and restore 
the natural environment, including through a network of 
protected areas; 
Whereas that network of protected areas is protected and 
supported by a variety of conservation laws passed at 
other times of crisis; 
Whereas the United States— 
(1) ranks among the top 5 countries in the world for 
the amount of wilderness-quality land and ocean remain-
ing; and 
(2) has the conservation experience and traditions 
necessary to make great strides in the protection of the 
remaining natural areas in the United States for future 
generations; 
Whereas the Federal Government, the private sector, civil so-
ciety, farmers, ranchers, fishing communities, and sports-
men have a history of working together to conserve the 
land and ocean of the United States; 
Whereas the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States, 
consisting of waters within 200 miles of the coastline— 
(1) covers 4,500,000 square miles; 
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