Habitat & Conservation  |  03/20/2018

Action Alert: Real Threat to CRP Surfaces


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The GROW Act (S.2557) would put pheasant habitat – and places to hunt – at risk forever. Don't let it happen.

Last week in Washington D.C., four members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senators Joni Ernst (IA), Chuck Grassley (IA), Sherrod Brown (OH) and Bob Casey (PA), introduced a bill that will drastically impact CRP benefits for pheasants, quail and other upland wildlife ... while severely curtailing your ability to find quality places to hunt. 
 
Call today and let your senators know that you oppose the CRP language in the GROW Act, Senate Bill 2557.
 
Click here to get your senators’ contact information.
 

ACT NOW – HERE’S WHY

The CRP provisions in this bill are bad news for you as a hunter and wildlife advocate. The bill limits national benefits from our country’s most successful conservation program by:

* Capping CRP at the historic low of 24 million acres.
 
* Eliminating current and future eligibility of some lands that benefit wildlife now, including CRP lands that have historically been open to the public as “walk-in areas." 

* Focusing already limited funding on water quality practices. We all know water quality is important; but when national legislation prioritizes regional water quality practices, we limit overall benefits for upland wildlife.

This bill is not in the best best interest of upland habitat or hunter access. Let your senator know!
 

OTHER IMPORTANT MESSAGING POINTS

* CRP demand nationwide is at an all-time high; farmers and landowners want access to this program.

*This bill fails to prioritize CRP funding for upland wildlife, which results in less quality habitat open to hunting and interspersed throughout rural places. The negative economic impact for small-town diners, gas station, hotels and lodges will be great.

*Tell them your story of how CRP works on your land and in your community, as a hunter, farmer, landowner, business owner and citizen. Maybe you have been denied enrollment already due to the current CRP acreage cap.
 
Also think about this. If the GROW Act (S.2557) passes, how easy is it going to be to reduce CRP even further in the future? 
 

ACT NOW to preserve CRP’s wildlife legacy  

Contact both of your senators today. Tell them you oppose this legislation. Every call and email counts, and matters. Do it for wildlife, for yourself, and for future generations who need CRP on the ground … to grow wildlife, and to provide places to hunt.