The recently released 2020 Democratic Party platform contains a lot of policies that will excite scientists and environmentalists, including an aggressive agenda to fight climate change, the return of science-based decision making to the EPA, and environmental justice. There’s one game-changing passage, however, that’s received shockingly little notice outside of a small circle of experts—who are no less than ecstatic to see it mentioned at this level. Indeed, the inclusion of a statement like this in a national party platform and a presidential campaign promise represents the largest shift in United States science-based biodiversity conservation policy since the Endangered Species Act.

I’m speaking about “30 by 30,” the goal of using science-based decision-making to protect 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by the year 2030. “Vice President Biden is committed to making the country more resilient to climate change and securing environmental justice, so I suggested that including the