Farm bill agreement is welcome news for conservation

[May 12, 2008]  WASHINGTON -- After nearly four months of extensions, House and Senate farm bill conferees have reached an agreement on the main elements of the 2008 farm bill. If passed, the bill would provide an additional $4 billion in new funding for conservation programs -- welcome news for wildlife conservation and hunters.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever urge both the House and the Senate to pass the legislation and for President George W. Bush to sign the bill into law as quickly as possible.

"The farm bill is the single biggest opportunity for conservation. Any further delay to a new bill would have jeopardized three decades' worth of progress toward cleaning our water, protecting our soils and creating habitat for wildlife," said Dave Nomsen, vice president of government affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, who has played a critical role in shaping the farm bill's conservation title.

"Dave Nomsen has been fighting this farm bill battle for wildlife conservation, our members and all hunters across America nonstop for over a year," reported Howard Vincent, president and chief executive officer of the organizations. "Dave's voice has carried the PF and QF conservation values to the halls of Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House. Surrounded by challenging circumstances, we have a conservation title in this farm bill that can help America's wildlife move forward again."

The bill does come at a time of intense pressure on today's agriculture industry: record high commodity prices and record low commodity supplies; skyrocketing land values; the nation's dependence on foreign oil and the demand for ethanol-based biofuels -- just to name a few. Despite this "perfect storm" of challenges, there are tremendous conservation opportunities within the new proposed farm bill.

"The alternatives to a new bill were extremely grim," said Nomsen. "While we are concerned with the overall reduction in CRP, this new farm bill represents a strong array of conservation programs, and the importance of $4 billion in new conservation funding necessary to augment some very important programs cannot be understated."

While final language is not yet confirmed, major conservation provisions likely in the bill are:

• Conservation Reserve Program -- The bill will reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program, the most successful conservation program in U.S. history and crucial for the continued success of pheasant, quail and other wildlife populations. While disappointed that the program's overall authority is reduced to 32 million acres, Pheasant Forever and Quail Forever strongly support new language and safeguards that will strengthen and improve CRP as an economically competitive and viable program.
  
  "Given the current agricultural climate, our goal was to shore up and strengthen CRP as a voluntary, incentive-based program by improving the rental rates and building the program's demand back up again. Demand will dictate a strong CRP," Nomsen said. "Establishing a more dynamic and economically competitive CRP is critical going forward."
  
  Other important components of the CRP program as outlined in the bill include:
   

  • New provisions to adjust rental rates will ensure CRP's competitiveness. "We thank Chairman Collin Peterson for his continued commitment to CRP and for recognizing the need to improve rates in an effort to maintain the program's effectiveness," Nomsen said.

  • The bill includes provisions that would provide incentives for thinning and burning of CRP tree plantings. "This is huge news for quail," Nomsen said. "Ranking member Saxby Chambliss must be commended for spearheading these provisions that will help a game bird in desperate need. In all honesty, this may be the biggest news for quail and quail hunters in a generation, and certainly the biggest news Quail Forever can deliver to our members during our two-year existence."

  • Recent activity in South Dakota shows that landowner support for CRP remains strong. Despite the expiration of over 300,000 CRP acres last fall, over 20,000 acres were offered for enrollment in just two weeks' time in South Dakota's new State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement program, known as SAFE. This represents an important change to the Conservation Reserve Program, encouraging state-specific wildlife-focused projects. Minnesota's SAFE program is also up and running at this time, with additional states to follow soon. The success of these programs demonstrates the demand for conservation, given competitive rental rates.

• Wetlands Reserve Program -- The bill provides $1.3 billion to re-establish the Wetlands Reserve Program, as well as a new appraisal process to make the program more competitive.

• Conservation Stewardship Program -- The Conservation Stewardship Program, formerly the Conservation Security Program, will be expanded with $1.1 billion to enroll 80 million acres in the program nationwide. The additional funding would encourage better wildlife management of CSP lands. "Chairman Harkin has fought hard to solidify the future of this program, and we thank him for that," said Nomsen. "There is certainly potential for CSP to be a new wildlife jewel. We're hoping this level of commitment will make that hope a reality with enhanced language generated from this bill."

• Open fields -- The bill includes $50 million for new provisions to help states develop and enhance access programs for hunters. Often called "walk-in" programs, they provide for improved public access to private lands, but also require that those lands be managed to optimize their value to fish and wildlife.

The bill is also expected to include provisions for the Grasslands Reserve Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and to address the conversion of native prairies -- one of the nation's most threatened ecosystems. Details regarding these programs will be available on the Web soon at www.pheasantsforever.org and www.quailforever.org.

"Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever applaud Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and ranking member Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., for their commitment to this crucial legislation," Nomsen said. "Their leadership in the language of this bill will deliver a conservation legacy to the next generation.

"As with all farm bills, passage represents the first step, and then our challenge will be to deliver and implement these programs across the countryside -- especially challenging considering the aforementioned pressures -- but we need this bill's passage in order to get these programs in the ground."

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are nonprofit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness and education. Together, the organizations have more than 127,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.

[Text from file received from Pheasants Forever]