Today, all Republican members of the House Committee on Natural Resources sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Debra Haaland, seeking critical information regarding the Biden administration's proposed 30 by 30 initiative. In part, the members wrote:

"DOI hosted an engagement session with the purported objective to pursue dialogue with congressional staff about the 30 by 30 initiative on March 30, 2021. Administration officials, however, deflected questions, provided vague responses, or simply acknowledged inquiries as 'really hard question[s].' The continued lack of information heightens concern from our constituents that the administration will use the 30 by 30 initiative to facilitate a radical federal land and water grab... 

"In direct contravention to Executive Order 14008’s direction, administration officials could not articulate the metrics that would be used to assess success, noting 'we probably are not going to be able to deliver a hard and fast answer to the question of how we are going to measure things.' It remains unclear how any quantifiable goals can be met without a baseline or procedure to monitor progress...

"Without clear parameters and defined foundational principles, the 30 by 30 initiative is simply another deeply irresponsible federal mandate with unknown, but likely disastrous consequences. We urge you to provide concrete definitions and processes in your recommendations in order to ensure that the extent of the initiative is clear."