U.S. Restoration

Restoring Degraded Land for Communities, Carbon, and Biodiversity

The United States’ ambitious, 15 million hectare restoration target is reflected in the “America the Beautiful” initiative, which calls for the restoration and conservation of 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Achieving these targets requires a collaborative approach by government agencies, states, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners.

Restoration at this scale could sequester 1.42 GtCO2e, improve wildlife habitat and connectivity, and transform brownfields and urban heat islands into vibrant green spaces that provide recreational and health benefits to communities.

The Bezos Earth Fund supports a network of hundreds of community groups, nonprofits, and cooperatives to restore degraded land across the U.S. These locally led efforts include: 

• Planting native tree species to increase forest cover
• Growing trees on farms to boost ecosystem productivity
• Planting native grass species in pasturelands, and 
• “Greening” urban areas by planting trees, creating parks, and installing natural stormwater infrastructure

Through these efforts the Earth Fund seeks to address bottlenecks that slow the pace and scale of restoration. Priorities include growing the pipeline of shovel-ready restoration projects — particularly those led by BIPOC and Native-led organizations — and building local groups’ capacity to absorb increased funding and monitor results.