[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 207 (Friday, October 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59996-59997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23590]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Request for Information on NOAA Actions To Advance the Goals and 
Recommendations in the Report on Conserving and Restoring America The 
Beautiful, Including Conserving At Least 30 Percent of U.S. Lands and 
Waters By 2030

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce (DOC).

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Departments of the Interior, 
Agriculture, Commerce, and the White House Council on Environmental 
Quality released a preliminary report on Conserving and Restoring 
America the Beautiful (Report). The Report recommends a decade-long 
national initiative to advance locally led conservation and restoration 
in public, private, and tribal lands and waters toward addressing three 
threats: Disappearance of nature, climate change, and inequitable 
access to the outdoors. Guided by eight core principles and six focus 
areas for early action and progress in the Report, NOAA is seeking 
public input on how NOAA should, using its existing authorities and 
associated measures, conserve and restore America's ocean, coasts, and 
Great Lakes.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 28, 2021.
    NOAA will host virtual public listening sessions at the following 
dates and times:

 Monday, November 8, 2021, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern Time
 Tuesday, November 16, 2021, 4:00-6:00 p.m. Eastern Time

    NOAA may end a meeting before the time noted above if all those 
participating have completed their oral comments.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Responses can be submitted 
electronically to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-HQ-2021-0109. Click the ``Comment 
Now!'' button, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your 
comments.
    Public Listening Sessions: Provide oral comments during virtual 
public listening sessions, as described under DATES. Registration 
details and additional information about how to participate in these 
public listening sessions is available at www.noaa.gov/america-the-beautiful.
    Instructions: Response to this request for information (RFI) is 
voluntary. Attachments will be accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, 
or Adobe PDF formats only. Each individual or institution is requested 
to submit only one response. NOAA requests that all letter writing 
campaigns submit one letter with an attachment that includes signatures 
to your letter, which will aid in review. The number of signatures will 
be taken into account in the summary of comments. DOC may post 
responses to this RFI, without change, on a Federal website. NOAA, 
therefore, requests that no business proprietary information, 
copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be 
submitted in response to this RFI. Please note that the U.S. Government 
will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any 
information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Visit www.noaa.gov/america-the-beautiful. For technical questions about this notice, email 
[email protected] (please do not submit public comments 
directly to this email address).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 27, 2021, the White House issued 
Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad 
(Executive Order). 86 FR 7619 Section 216(a) of the Executive Order 
directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chair of the 
Council on Environmental Quality, and the heads of other relevant 
agencies, to submit a report to the National Climate Task Force within 
90 days of the date of the order recommending steps that the United 
States should take, working with state, local, tribal, and territorial 
governments, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, and other 
key stakeholders, to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent 
of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
    In accordance with Section 216(a) of the Executive Order, on May 6, 
2021, the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and 
the White House Council on Environmental Quality released a preliminary 
report on Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful: www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/report-conserving-and-restoring-america-the-beautiful-2021.pdf. The Report calls for a decade-long national 
initiative to advance locally led conservation and restoration in 
public, private, and tribal lands and waters. The Report recommends 
eight core principles:
     Principle 1: Pursue a Collaborative and Inclusive Approach 
to Conservation.
     Principle 2: Conserve America's Lands and Waters for the 
Benefit of All People.
     Principle 3: Support Locally Led and Locally Designed 
Conservation Efforts.
     Principle 4: Honor Tribal Sovereignty and Support the 
Priorities of Tribal Nations.
     Principle 5: Pursue Conservation and Restoration 
Approaches that Create Jobs and Support Healthy Communities.
     Principle 6: Honor Private Property Rights and Support the 
Voluntary Stewardship Efforts of Private Landowners and Fishers.
     Principle 7: Use Science as a Guide.
     Principle 8: Build on Existing Tools and Strategies with 
an Emphasis on Flexibility and Adaptive Approaches.
    The Report also recommends six areas of early focus and progress:
     Create More Parks and Safe Outdoor Opportunities in 
Nature-Deprived Communities.
     Support Tribally Led Conservation and Restoration 
Priorities.
     Expand Collaborative Conservation of Fish and Wildlife 
Habitats and Corridors.

[[Page 59997]]

     Increase Access for Outdoor Recreation.
     Incentivize and Reward the Voluntary Conservation Efforts 
of Fishers, Ranchers, Farmers, and Forest Owners.
     Create Jobs by Investing in Restoration and Resilience.
    As directed by Section 216(a) of the Executive Order, the Report 
proposes guidelines for determining whether lands and waters qualify 
for conservation, and establishes mechanisms to measure and monitor 
progress toward the 30-percent goal. This will be accomplished through 
two complementary steps described in the Report. The first is the 
development of an American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, which 
will provide a baseline assessment of the amount and types of lands and 
waters that are currently being managed for conservation and 
restoration purposes, as well as track progress of conservation and 
restoration efforts going forward. The Atlas will be developed by an 
interagency working group of agency experts, co-chaired by NOAA, with 
input from the public, states, tribal nations, scientists, and a wide 
range of stakeholders. The second step is the publication of annual 
America the Beautiful updates on Federal efforts to support locally led 
conservation and restoration efforts, with the first update due by the 
end of 2021.
    Section 216(a) of the Executive Order further directs the Secretary 
of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
Commerce through the NOAA Administrator, and the Chair of the Council 
on Environmental Quality to solicit input from state, local, tribal, 
and territorial officials, agricultural and forest landowners, 
fishermen, and other key stakeholders in identifying strategies that 
will encourage broad participation in the goal of conserving at least 
30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. NOAA has significant 
experience in the conservation and restoration of U.S. lands and 
waters. Accordingly, NOAA has existing authorities, as well as 
associated regulations, conservation and management plans, and similar 
measures. These include the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, Coastal 
Zone Management Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, 
Coral Reef Conservation Act, and others. NOAA is seeking public input 
on the use of NOAA's existing authorities and associated measures to 
advance the goals and recommendations in the Report, including the 
eight core principles and six areas of early focus and progress. As 
such, NOAA invites the public to provide input to help guide NOAA's 
conservation and restoration of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 
resources; NOAA's engagement on the development of the American 
Conservation and Stewardship Atlas; and NOAA's efforts to track its 
progress toward advancing the goals and recommendations in the Report 
for inclusion in the annual updates. Specifically, NOAA is seeking 
public input on the following:
     Which of NOAA's existing authorities and associated 
measures, as listed above, are most appropriate for addressing the 
threats identified in the Report, which are the disappearance of 
nature, climate change, and inequitable access to the outdoors.
     Whether NOAA should better apply its existing authorities 
and associated measures, as listed above, to advance the goals and 
recommendations in the Report.
     What criteria NOAA should consider in working with other 
agencies to identify existing or potential new ``conserved'' or 
``restored'' areas for the purpose of advancing the goals and 
recommendations in the Report.
     What additional scientific information, Indigenous 
Knowledge, or other expertise NOAA should consider in order to advance 
the goals and recommendations in the Report.
     How NOAA should consider tracking its actions and 
measuring its progress, including with partners, toward advancing the 
goals and recommendations in the Report.
     What actions NOAA should consider taking to support non-
Federal entities, including tribal, state, territorial, and local 
governments and non-governmental organizations and other private 
entities, to advance their efforts to conserve and restore U.S. lands 
and waters.
     What actions NOAA should consider taking to facilitate 
broad participation in the America the Beautiful initiative.
     What additional information NOAA should consider as 
relevant to its role in implementing the America the Beautiful 
initiative.
    Respondents are encouraged to focus their comments on actions that 
NOAA is authorized to take under its existing authorities and 
associated measures, as listed above. More information on NOAA's 
authorities, the eight core principles and six areas of early focus and 
progress in the Report, and other relevant resources is available at 
NOAA's website for Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful: 
https://noaa.gov/america-the-beautiful.

Richard W. Spinrad,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and 
Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-23590 Filed 10-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P