Leveraging private lands to meet 2030 biodiversity targets in the United States

Abstract

Coincident with international movements to protect 30% of land and sea over the next decade (“30×30”), the United States has committed to more than doubling its current protected land area by 2030. While publicly owned and managed protected areas have been the cornerstone of area‐based conservation over the past century, such lands are costly to establish and have limited capacity to protect areas of the highest value for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Here we examine the current and potential contributions of private land for reaching 30×30 conservation targets at both federal and state scales in the United States. We find that compared to publicly owned and managed protected lands, protected private lands (conservation easements) are more often in areas designated as high conservation priority, hold significantly higher mean species richness, and sequester more vulnerable land‐based carbon per unit area. These and related findings highlight the necessity of mechanisms that engage private landholders in enduring conservation partnerships.

Wildlife conservation on private land: a social-ecological systems study

“…Private lands also offer unique opportunities for conservation. With appropriate management, these lands can serve as vital refuges and 'stepping stones' for wildlife between protected areas and reserves, mitigating some of the impacts of habitat fragmentation (Figgis 2004;Fitzsimons 2004; Kamal et al 2015; Chapman et al 2023). Conservation covenant and stewardship programs, alongside innovative approaches like citizen science and participatory action research, can complement public reserve systems and contribute to multi-tenure conservation networks (Pulsford et al 2013b; Kamal et al 2014;Taylor et al 2023a).…”