Landowners in Colorado could play a major role in President Joe Biden's efforts to conserve 30% of the nation's undeveloped lands by 2030, and make money at the same time.

Jay Fetcher's family has been ranching cattle since 1994. He said when his family looked into the idea of a conservation easement for their property near Steamboat Springs, his father was immediately sold.

He did not want to see the land developed for the service industry; he wanted it to remain land that produced food.

"Because here is property that could be developed into condominiums, golf courses," said Fetcher. "But we as a family had a passion for keeping it forever as 2,000 acres of undeveloped land."

The family's decision to conserve the land for ranching caught on, and led to Fetcher founding the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust.

The America the Beautiful project is challenging local communities to find the best ways to conserve, connect and restore lands, waters and wildlife that local economies depend on.

Conservation efforts also are seen as critical for protecting clean-water supplies, especially during times of severe drought. Melissa Daruna, executive director of the group Keep it Colorado, said some strategies already under way could provide a path for communities across the West.

She pointed to local stakeholders on the Eastern Plains outside Pueblo who are taking the lead to reckon with current and future impacts of a warming climate.

"And so what are the opportunities to work collectively across the community and conserve the most valuable landscapes?" asked Daruna. "Making sure that we don't have a situation where the local agricultural economy collapses or falls apart because the water resources are gone."

Roughly 60% of all land in Colorado is privately owned, and owners who opt for easements could see big payouts given rising land values across the state.

In 2008, lawmakers allowed the donated value of the land set aside for conservation to be considered a state tax credit which can be resold to Colorado taxpayers with outstanding tax burdens.

"So all of a sudden, I do an easement, I can sell the value of that easement to a Colorado taxpayer," said Fetcher. "And I get a check in my pocket. You know, we're not going to develop the land anyway, but all of a sudden I get paid for not doing it."

Nevada is still waiting for official designation of a new national monument. In late November, President Joe Biden said he is "committed" to protecting Avi Kwa Ame, known by some as Spirit Mountain, an area spanning about 450,000 acres near Laughlin. But it hasn't happened yet.

Conservation groups and tribes say making Avi Kwa Ame a national monument would align with Biden's "30 by 30" campaign, which aims to protect 30% of U.S. land and waters by 2030.

Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of Nevada Wildlife Federation, called the designation "the missing key" to tristate-level land protections in the Western U.S.

"With this designation, it's really going to be a big jump forward in accomplishing President Biden's '30 x 30' initiative," Kuhlman said. "Now the question is, 'How else can we move that needle towards that goal?'"

Opponents of protecting more public land want to see the area used in other ways. Backers of the Kulning Wind Energy Project have proposed a 310-megawatt wind farm within the boundaries of the proposed national monument to provide energy to Nevada and California.

Kuhlman said as the State of Nevada starts transitioning to renewable energy, conservation groups want to be sure wildlife and their habitat are not forgotten. This echoes a similar directive from the Bureau of Land Management that now prioritizes protecting lands that connect wildlife migration corridors.

Kuhlman said the desert floor within the proposed monument boundaries have federal protections above standard BLM lands, but the mountain and ridgetops do not.

"That is where Nevada state mammals - the bighorn sheep, mule deer and a lot of other wildlife - reside. Protecting these areas from water source to water source is what, really, our organization got involved in," he said.

Kuhlman said Nevada will be the new frontier for how renewable energy if alternatives can be increase responsibly. He thinks designation of the Avi Kwa Ame national monument will help set the example - while also ensuring that historic, cultural and biodiverse lands receive protection.

Get in shape. It's a common New Year's resolution, but research shows the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku - or "forest bathing" - has multiple benefits for mental and physical health.

Studies show that forest bathing, which is basically getting outside and soaking up some nature, can improve mood.

Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, chief medical adviser for the app AllTrails - an outdoor hiking and recreation app to help find trails - said researchers from Stanford analyzed MRI data and found that time in nature actually decreases activity in the part of the brain responsible for depression and anxiety.

"They've found that 90 minutes of walking in a natural setting," said Bartlett Hackenmiller, "participants reported less of what we call rumination - just that cycle of spinning negative, stressful thoughts - than people who walked in an urban setting."

She cited a raft of studies that expand on the benefits of getting out in nature. One showed that it helps people reach their fitness goals, because exercising outdoors is more enjoyable, so people are more likely to repeat it.

Nature walks have also been linked to better memory, a boost in immune function, and lowered stress hormones, blood pressure and cancer risk.

Free online apps can help people venture out safely. Here's Meaghan Praznik, head of communications for AllTrails.

"Our built-in navigator helps people make sure that they're never going to miss a turn, and they can follow along the route," said Praznik. "We also have printable maps, which give people a backup map, or even the ability to download offline maps in case you are to lose service."

Other studies have shown time spent in the great outdoors with a group of friends is even more beneficial than walking alone.

And they show that living in an area with higher "surrounding greenness" can affect the genes linked to mental health disorders, tumors and metabolic disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop oil and other toxic chemical discharges into the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon.

Recent spills have the issue back at the forefront. The group Columbia Riverkeeper sued the Corps last year, noting the pollutants harm fish and other wildlife in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Miles Johnson, senior attorney for the group, said the permits address four dams along the river identified as pollution sources, and the problem is bigger than petroleum and chemical pollution.

"In addition, the dams create big reservoirs that soak up the sun's energy and make the river too hot for salmon and Steelhead," Johnson explained. "The permits that EPA issued to the Army Corps are a directive to deal with some of those problems."

In operating the dams, the Corps will be required to use environmentally friendly lubricants, pay closer attention to water temperatures in those reservoirs and remove water from some if they get too hot for the fish to survive.

The issue was highlighted again recently when between 300 and 600 gallons of oil leaked into the Snake River from a turbine at Little Goose dam in Eastern Washington. Johnson pointed out such pollution has become a pattern with the Corps and has to be monitored and addressed constantly.

"Sometimes it's one gallon, sometimes it's five gallons, sometimes it's hundreds of gallons or even thousands of gallons," Johnson outlined. "And sometimes that oil contains toxic chemicals like PCBs. And after watching it happen over and over again, Columbia Riverkeeper took action, which is what we do when someone illegally discharges pollution into the river."

The EPA took the action under the Clean Water Act. Columbia Riverkeeper has sued federal and state agencies multiple times and continues to monitor Northwest waterways and the wildlife that depend on them.