Thirty by Thirty is For the Birds… and For People, Too
By Jeff Hullstrung
You may have heard about Thirty by Thirty, an intention to conserve 30% of our landscape by 2030. The underlying goal is to preserve biodiversity in the face of climate change and other pressures on natural communities. As a bird enthusiast, I support the general concept of Thirty by Thirty as one means of helping our feathered friends.
Fortunately, Vermont has taken a leading role in this effort. In June 2023 the Vermont Legislature passed the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act. This Act sets a goal of conserving 30% of Vermont’s landscape by 2030 and conserving 50% of Vermont’s landscape by 2050. This sounds like a challenging set of goals.
Many will agree that we need a challenging set of goals. In September 2019, researchers from Cornell University published a paper online in Science outlining the loss of 3 billion birds since 1970. The population declines were widespread across species and habitat types. Interestingly, the lone exception was the waterfowl group. Organizations such as Ducks Unlimited have invested heavily to preserve and rehabilitate waterfowl habitat, suggesting that strategic investments in conservation can yield positive results for birds.
I recently watched the recording of a presentation hosted by North Branch Nature Center given by Gus Goodwin of the Nature Conservancy. Gus titled the presentation “The Science and Stories of Conserving Land,” and it was true to the title. Gus provided rich data on birds and other wildlife, plus data on the quantity of land conserved. Since there are various definitions of “conserved,” the numbers will vary by source. One key point that Gus made: Vermont has conserved about 22% of its landscape and needs to conserve another half-million acres by 2030 to meet the first goal of 30% conserved. With most land in private ownership, Vermont needs to work with landowners to hit the target.
Collaboration is the approach that Gus highlighted in the land conservation stories. Vermont state agencies, conservation non-profits, towns, land trusts, and private landowners have worked together to conserve key tracts of land to connect corridors throughout Vermont. This enables flora and fauna to move upslope, or along natural pathways, in response to climate change and other pressures. Vermont lies in a critical area for connectivity to neighboring states and provinces, and the direction from our legislators places Vermont in a critical, leading role in terms of taking action.
It is noteworthy that the Vermont legislature recognized the need to balance the conservation of wild areas with the conservation of responsibly managed working lands. Supporting agriculture and forest products is key to ensuring economic growth in a way that provides suitable support for biodiversity. Recent federal regulatory and funding initiatives in support of Thirty by Thirty require that conservation is more inclusive and incorporates social justice outcomes. This provides hope that Thirty by Thirty will intentionally provide more equitable results.
Feel free to thank your local legislator for supporting this regulatory framework, which will help both human well-being and bird well-being. You may also choose to support conservation through The Nature Conservancy, The National Audubon Society, The Vermont Land Trust, or a host of other conservation non-profits and local land trusts that are working to support the Thirty by Thirty goal. The next generations of humans and birds will be your beneficiaries.