Biden administration announces $161 million toward public lands restoration

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it will put $161 million toward restoring ecosystems on federal lands in 11 Western states.

The restoration efforts will be focused on 21 so-called restoration landscapes, identified by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) based on ecological need, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said on a press call Wednesday.

“We worked hard to identify areas where restoration investments would be supported by states, tribes, and local communities and be leveraged by investments and partners,” Stone-Manning said on the call. “The point here is to tackle threats to public lands at scale.”

“The pressures on our public lands — from invasive species, unprecedented wildfires, drought and increasing use — are being exacerbated by the climate crisis, degrading landscapes and impacting public uses. If we are going to ensure America’s public lands are available to everyone, we must invest in their health,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Wednesday. “Through the President’s Investing in America agenda, we will increase the ability of public lands to provide clean water, habitat for fish and wildlife, opportunities for recreation, and other important benefits.”

The funding, secured through the Inflation Reduction Act, will come in addition to $40 million already provided for public lands restoration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Sites identified for restoration by the bureau include wetlands in Colorado’s San Luis Valley; Arizona’s Yanawant landscape, which includes the lands directly north of the Grand Canyon; the Snake River plain in southern Idaho, a major habitat for species like the greater sage-grouse; and the Hi-Line Sagebrush Anchor in northern Montana, which the bureau described as some of the continent’s biggest remaining intact grasslands.

The announcement comes the week after the BLM announced it has advanced two proposed renewable energy transmission projects on federal lands, where the administration has set a goal of 25 gigawatts of renewable capacity.