The federal Farm Bill is the single largest source of conservation funding for private lands in the United States, providing billions of dollars impacting hundreds of millions of acres. Farm Bill conservation programs create and enhance habitat — and even provide public hunting access — on private lands. These accomplishments are possible through voluntary, incentive-based programs that help farmers, ranchers, and landowners conserve and improve their land.
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever volunteers, members, staff, and partners work hand-in-hand with America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to implement conservation and wildlife habitat projects as part of their agricultural operations.
The first modern-day farm bill was enacted in 1985 and is reauthorized approximately every five years. The last five-year farm bill was passed by Congress in 2018, which is why the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Government Affairs team is working to pass a new five-year, bipartisan farm bill that:
» Supports voluntary, incentive-based programs that build agricultural resilience, promote private lands stewardship, and sustain rural communities;
» Emphasizes conservation practices that address multiple natural resource concerns, including wildlife habitat, soil health, and water quality; and
» Ensures all farmers, ranchers, and landowners have access to conservation programs to maximize their effectiveness and impact.
Read more about PF & QF’s farm bill priorities.
The current Farm Bill authorized several programs that provide tools and resources for agricultural producers to use on their operations while continuing to produce food, feed, fuel, and fiber. These tools include cost-share for implementing practices on land in active crop and livestock production; incentives for establishing conservation cover and wildlife habitat on highly erodible and environmentally sensitive lands; and funding for voluntary easements to restore wetlands, grasslands, and private forestland. Read more about some of these programs below.
» The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the nation’s longest standing and most successful private lands conservation programs. CRP offers farmers, ranchers, and landowners an annual rental payment, cost-share, and other incentives to establish conservation cover on marginal and highly erodible cropland and other environmentally sensitive lands. In 2007, peak CRP enrollment levels in South Dakota coincided with recent highs in pheasant abundance, with an estimated population of 11.9 million birds. Read our CRP 101 blog to learn more about this important program.
» The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) provides grants to state fish and wildlife agencies to increase public access to private lands for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. Known in many states as “walk-in areas,” this funding has led to millions of additional acres being made available for hunters thanks to landowners voluntarily opening their lands.
» The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is the largest “working lands” program in the farm bill and provides financial and technical assistance to producers to install and implement conservation practices on active cropland, rangeland, and forestland. The 2018 Farm Bill requires at least 10 percent of EQIP funding to be targeted at wildlife practices and initiatives, such as Working Lands for Wildlife and the Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project.
» The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps to restore and protect grasslands, wetlands, and working farms and ranches through voluntary conservation easements held by either USDA or other entities. These conservation easements are an important tool for keeping sagebrush rangeland intact, as well as for restoring and enhancing wetlands and associated upland habitats.
» The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) provides an opportunity for nonprofit organizations like PF & QF and other partners to address natural resource concerns in target geographies by leveraging both public and private funding to deliver on-the-ground conservation outcomes. In Montana, PF’s Big Game Habitat Improvement Project, is making a landscape-level impact for wildlife habitat by bringing together landowners, partners, and federal agencies to enhance habitat connectivity and quality and improve grazing systems throughout the region.