Nebraska's land is nearly all privately owned. According to Ricketts, that means the federal government would need a heavy-handed approach to get to 30% of land in conservation.
But protected lands vary greatly across states, from 80% in Nevada to 9% in Maryland, and the report focuses only on achieving 30% nationwide, not in each state.
Across the U.S., just 12% of land is protected in a natural state, but that number rises to 30% when including lands that are largely protected but still allow logging or mining, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In their report, the agencies are careful to focus on land "conservation" — not protection or preservation. They say the term is meant to affirm that multiple land uses, including working lands, can contribute to environmental quality.
Besides Ricketts, the top critics of 30 by 30 include rural radio host Trent Loos and the Texas-based American Stewards of Liberty. That group has roots in the Sagebrush Rebellion, a period of Western pushback against federal land policies.
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