November 12, 2025 – Washington, D.C. – Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) applaud Congress for reopening the federal government, restoring critical operations for conservation programs across the country. After 42 days, farmers will again receive program payments and conservation technical assistance, furloughed employees nationwide will return to work, and conservation efforts will resume on public and private lands.
As part of the agreement, Congress enacted full-year appropriations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA), two agencies essential to the success of voluntary, incentive-based conservation efforts on private lands. The appropriations package provides $850 million for NRCS conservation operations, which includes conservation technical assistance for farmers, ranchers, and private landowners implementing habitat and soil health practices on their operations.
“We are very relieved to see the federal government reopen and to have full-year funding in place for the agencies that make conservation happen on private working lands,” said Ariel Wiegard, PF & QF’s vice president of government affairs. “The technical expertise and support provided by NRCS and FSA employees and partners is vital to the health of our working lands, wildlife, and rural communities. We urge Congress to build on this momentum and deliver bipartisan agreements on the remaining appropriations bills so we can keep investing in America’s lands and communities.”
In addition to agency funding, the continuing resolution extends the 2018 Farm Bill for another year; this includes authority for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Now in its 40th year, CRP remains one of the most effective tools for producers to manage risk, generate steady on-farm income, and conserve their most sensitive acres, and this extension ensures that the program will continue to deliver results for farmers, wildlife, and rural America. PF & QF urge Congress to renew efforts to write and pass a bipartisan farm bill next year to strengthen CRP and other conservation programs for the future.
About Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever make up the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. This community of more than 500,000 members, supporters and partners is dedicated to the protection of our uplands through habitat improvement, public access, education and advocacy. A network of 754 local chapters spread across North America determine how 100 percent of their locally raised funds are spent — the only national conservation organization that operates through this grassroots structure. Since its creation in 1982, the organization has dedicated more than $1 billion to 580,000 habitat projects benefiting 31 million acres.
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org