ALBANY, NY (WENY)-- New York state leaders set a goal to conserve 30% of the state's land and water by 2030. Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation supportive of President Joe Biden's national conservation initiative, America the Beautiful. 

The new bill requires the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to develop strategies to achieve the legislation's goals. 

And some experts said this could make a significant impact. 

“It will allow New York to build on the conservation work that’s occurred in our state already and allow lots of people to collaborate to make sure that we are working together to protect the things that we rely on for clean drinking water, for jobs, for fresh food for our communities in the future," said Jessica Ottney Mahar, New York Policy and Strategy Director at The Nature Conservancy. 

Ottney Mahar said the legislation will help address climate change and the loss of biodiversity-- the loss of different types of plants and animals. She added that the legislation goes beyond protecting our environment. 

“In New York State when we protect clean water and clean air through conservation, we’re protecting our public health. We rely on the water in our state whether it’s our lakes and rivers or whether it’s ground water," she said. 

Ottney Mahar said this conservation initiative could also help New York's economy. She said there are a large number of jobs created through the conservation of natural resources.