NREPA one more step to rewilding parts of the Mountain West, adding to 30x30

President Thomas Jefferson used an executive order to defy the US Constitution, begin the Native American Genocide and purchase the Louisiana Territory from a country that didn't even own it. 

In 1991 after the Soviet Union fell Republicans began their war on the environment substituting a new Green Scare for the old Red Scare. This blog was established in 2010 as a vehicle for rewilding the American West. 

Putting the country on the path of protecting at least 30 percent of its land and 30 percent of its ocean areas by 2030 (30x30) is imperative to preserving public lands. 

WildEarth Guardians are based in Santa Fe; the Rewilding Institute is based in Albuquerque. Both organizations are driving the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act or NREPA. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies based in Helena, Montana has been kicking the legislation around Congress since 1993. President Biden's nominee for Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning lectured on NREPA in 2002 at the University of Montana.

George Wuerthner is a member of the Leadership Council at the Rewilding Institute.

The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), H.R.1755, was introduced into 117th Congress by Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York. A companion bill sponsored by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island was placed in the Senate. NREPA signals a humility toward the land and acknowledges that we must put some of the planet off-limits from human exploitation. NREPA is a way to preserve our nation’s natural heritage and demonstrate a new commitment to life outside of human societies. With the Biden Administration’s more enlightened attitude toward our public lands, there is reason to hope that NREPA legislation will get a fair hearing in Congress and be passed into law. [Wuerthner, Rewilding Earth]

John Horning is executive director for WildEarth Guardians.

The 30×30 Initiative, as it’s commonly called, is sorely needed as America – and the world – confronts the dual threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. One of the boldest ways to help reach 30×30 goals would be passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA). This visionary act, which was developed by leading conservation biologists, would designate 23 million acres of Wilderness for some of the wildest public lands remaining in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and Oregon. The crises of our time require bold solutions. We must protect at least 30% of our nation’s lands and waters and the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is a solution we must grasp to help preserve life on Earth. [Horning, Flathead Beacon]

Opinion: Wind is bigger factor than fuel in spread of forest fires https://t.co/9KqDAOBLjN via @missoulian

— Alliance for the Wild Rockies (@ForRockies) July 11, 2021