New York State Unveils 30x30 Conservation Strategies

In a draft document published this summer, the state outlines planned contributions to protecting 30% of its lands and waters by 2030.

The Hudson River estuary is bound to benefit from the 30x30 initiative, already being listed as a priority conservation project by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Credit: Emma Denes '25

Restoring habitats, increasing access to the outdoors and strengthening climate resilience — with these goals in mind, New York aims to take a step closer towards statewide conservation of the environment.

These overarching objectives comprise the New York State 30x30 Draft Strategies and Methodology, released this past July by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Through an overall listing of planned methods and action steps, the document allows all New Yorkers to gain an idea of how the state will work to protect 30% of its lands and waters by 2030 — more commonly referred to in conservation circles as the 30x30 initiative. 

As some scientists attest of a sixth mass extinction, with an average observed species decline of 69% between 1970 and 2018, the global goal of 30x30 continues to find its footing, which includes this new plan published by New York State. With public comments accepted on the strategies document until Aug. 30, and two public meetings already held earlier this summer, the review process emphasizes transparency for 30x30. 

Currently, 22% of land and water areas in the state are protected, and by setting a 30% target, it makes both the process and desired product that much more achievable. 

“When we’re working towards big goals in the environment, it can sometimes seem insurmountable. Setting numerical targets can help us see where we’re trying to go and drive efforts forward,” said Bryan Ellis, planning section head in the DEC division of lands and forests. “I think that 30x30 does a really good job in helping us have something that we need to work towards.”

Defining and Describing Protection

When it comes to the meaning of conservation, you cannot safeguard just any land or water — you must clarify the level of restricted use, whether it be permanent or persistent in nature.

Permanently protected areas legally conserve land or water forever, such as conservation easements in which landowners voluntarily set aside natural areas. On the other hand, persistently protected areas conserve land or water for long-term sustainable management via regulation or contract — like when the state provides regulatory oversight of freshwater and tidal wetland protections.

Still, the sheer expanse of New York’s land and waters make state conservation a formidable task. That’s where the 2016 Open Space Conservation Plan comes in, prioritizing certain conservation projects within and across the nine different regions of the state.

“Our plan is to take the comments that we get from the public comment period on the 30x30 plan and prepare a final document, and then take that information to inform an update to the 2016 Open Space Plan, which we’re in the middle of updating presently,” said Jeffrey Mapes, environmental program specialist for the DEC.

For instance, priority projects found within Dutchess County, located in the Lower Hudson Valley region, include the Great Swamp wetlands, one of the largest wetlands in the state and the 153 mile-long Hudson River estuary. The estuary, arguably the defining natural feature of the Hudson Valley region, flows into the ocean at New York Harbor, which causes the river to encompass a tidal mix of saltwater and freshwater all the way up to Troy, New York.

Furthermore, as habitat fragmentation remains a steadfast concern, conservationists can create corridors to connect natural areas and help wildlife migrate amidst human development. Dam removal, spearheaded by environmental organizations like Riverkeeper, allows eels to grow and fish to spawn in streams and creeks without infrastructure obstruction. And those who participate in the Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project help frogs and salamanders cross roads, so they can arrive safely at their breeding grounds every year. However, the services of these volunteers may no longer be required if one day, these amphibians make the journey for themselves through established corridors. 

“Figuring out where those important corridors exist and where we should focus our efforts is an important aspect of something that we’ve thought about and that we need to continue to work through,” said Ellis.

The plan outlines a range of federal programs that could contribute to 30x30, from the Forest Legacy Program to the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, but current state programs are just as valuable, including those that fund land trusts, water quality improvements and removal of property at risk to flooding. New programs might also be implemented, from expanding greenway trails to forming new Marine Protected Areas in the ocean.

 In addition, municipal natural resources inventories can serve as a solid starting point. For example, Dutchess County’s NRI describes a 20% loss of grasslands and meadows from 2011 to 2019, setting the stage for the beginnings of open space conservation in the county.

Experts will utilize a whole host of methods to follow through the 30x30 strategies, from supporting environmental justice projects and communicating with the public to working with Indigenous peoples and collaborating with governments and organizations to collect data and support relevant legislation. And the land of academic institutions, like Marist College’s Fern Tor nature preserve, could play a role.

“We’re looking for some input from the public and looking at the level of protection for some of the lands owned by universities,” said Mapes. “I think each one’s probably going to be a little bit different, as far as what the institutional requirements would be.”

Forests comprise 61% of New York acreage, acting as giant carbon sequesters in a warming world. Credit: Emma Denes ‘25

Combining the Biodiversity and Climate Crises

The state strategies plan comes at a time when 30x30 dominates conservation discussions. The initiative itself first found its stronghold on the international stage two years ago, when the parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the 15th CBD Conference of the Parties, otherwise known as COP 15. The Framework contains, among other objectives, the target to conserve 30% of land and waters by the year 2030. 

 The U.S. is one of only two countries, including the Vatican, that are not parties to the convention, since the Senate still has not ratified the CBD treaty former President Bill Clinton signed in 1993. But the country did send Monica Medina — the first-ever Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources — to act as an observer at COP 15. 

 COP 16, coming up this October in Colombia, will act as the first CBD conference since the Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, and it will offer parties the chance to discuss progress made on achieving conservation targets, including 30x30. Whether the U.S. will create another Special Envoy position for this year’s conference remains to be seen, but even so, President Joe Biden has established 30x30 as an ongoing national goal, and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed 30x30 legislation for New York in 2022.

“I really commend the governor and those who work to champion this legislation, taking this important step forward and setting this aspirational goal for us within the state and working towards the implementation of it,” said Ellis.

According to the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment, human activities like habitat loss and pollution affect ecosystems more so than climate change alone — and indeed, land use mainly accounts for loss of biodiversity. But still, the climate impacts keep adding up. Nutrient runoff from increased precipitation spurs toxic harmful algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems, while rising temperatures trigger native species to shift northward and invasive insects to expand their range and wreak havoc on native vegetation.

And after a summer marked by numerous regional heat waves and the world's hottest days ever on record, fighting both biodiversity loss and climate change at the same time has the potential to result in an ideal strategy. As the state’s Extreme Heat Action Plan states, planned ecosystem-based adaptation solutions incorporate mapping land cover changes, creating risk assessments for farmers and funding heat-adapted tree production. 

It also means taking advantage of natural climate solutions. For example, forests act as some of the planet’s best climate change mitigators, absorbing — or sequestering — billions of tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis. With 18.6 million acres of forest located in New York State, therein lies a potential that can be tapped.

Whether considering climate change, ecosystems or wildlife, 30x30 sets an ambitious timeline for conservation. And with just a few more years left until 2030, New York moves itself ever forward on the path to protection with a myriad of strategies that champion the planet and people in tandem.

“30x30 has given us an opportunity to look at how those all overlap and how they’re complementary and how we can go about taking steps that work to meet multiple goals from multiple angles,” said Mapes. “That’s definitely one big positive that comes out of the 30x30 legislation.”