NRA Previously Stated: “We therefore recognize and embrace the overlap between our collective work to conserve fish and wildlife species and their habitats and the establishment of ambitious global biodiversity conservation principles of the “30 by 30” initiative, which aims to conserve 30 percent of the globes’ lands and waters by 2030” 

Washington, D.C. — The National Rifle Association (NRA) has apparently dropped its support for the 30 by 30 initiative, a plan that aims to conserve 30% of public lands and waters by 2030. The purported news was announced by a press release from the conspiracy-pushing fringe group American Stewards of Liberty (ASoL), which has been fighting the plan with increasingly incendiary rhetoric.

“The NRA should feel right at home now that it appears to have aligned itself with a fellow conspiracy-pushing fringe group with a track record of putting politics over people,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “By joining American Stewards of Liberty, the NRA isn’t just abandoning the Biden administration’s 30 by 30 plan, it is abandoning hunters and fishers as well.” 

In a since-deleted blog post titled “NRA Joins Hunt Fish 30 x 30 to Conserve 30% of Lands and Waters by 2030,” the group made its support for the policy clear, claiming “[we recognize] and embrace the overlap between our collective work to conserve fish and wildlife species and their habitats and the establishment of ambitious global biodiversity conservation principles of the “30 by 30” initiative.” 

The position angered the anti-conservation group that once considered the NRA an ally, who took to their online blog, “Liberty Matters,” to air their grievances. In the post, ASoL “commends” the NRA for deleting its initial post, but called on them to issue a statement opposing the 30 by 30 policy and withdraw their name as a signatory of the initiative. As the NRA’s position remains unclear, the group must decide who it stands with: a conspiracy-pushing, anti-conservation group, or its members in the hunting and fishing communities.  

# # #

back to top