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For Immediate Release
Harkin Takes First Steps to Fix House Ag Conservation Title, Defenders Says
WASHINGTON – Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today released a Farm Bill conservation title that represents a significant step forward for conservation policy and funding that helps farmers and livestock producers protect farmland, air and water quality, and wildlife habitat, according to Defenders of Wildlife. The national conservation group praised Harkin’s efforts to move conservation legislation that helps farmers improve their environmental stewardship through a committee of diverse agricultural and commodity interests.
"Defenders of Wildlife recognizes Senator Harkin’s strong efforts in a very tough situation to craft a conservation title that moves forward, not backward," said Mark Shaffer, senior vice president for programs at Defenders of Wildlife. "Chairman Harkin has laid out a conservation package that will give us more wildlife, cleaner water, healthier rural communities, and more prosperous family farms. Now Defenders and other environmental groups want to work with him and the Senate to increase funding in the bill for key agricultural conservation programs up to levels that meet the needs of American farmers."
Shaffer hailed the Harkin conservation title for boosting traditional conservation programs while also adding an innovative new working lands stewardship program.
Defenders also applauded the wide array of environmental policy challenges addressed by the Harkin bill. A key shortcoming of the House Farm Bill is that it directs the bulk of new funding to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which it also opens for the first time to industrial-sized animal feeding operations. Unlike the House bill, Harkin’s proposal retains reasonable restrictions on taxpayer subsidies to factory farms. Chairman Harkin’s legislation would also provide for increased funding for a wide array of programs, including the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Farmland Protection Program (FPP), a new Conservation Security Program, a new Grassland Reserve Program, and other key priorities.
"Farmers in every corner of our nation want to improve wildlife habitat, air and water quality, and secure the future of their farms against sprawling development," Shaffer said. "Chairman Harkin has clearly listened to farmers across the country, and his bill is a major step forward. While we will be working to find additional funds for vital conservation programs, Iowans, family farmers, and conservationists across America should applaud Senator Harkin’s initiative." Shaffer noted that Defenders of Wildlife will continue to seek much needed funding increases, especially in the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Farmland Protection Program, and Grassland Reserve Program. "We sincerely hope that the Senate will continue to work toward a better Farm Bill, building on the solid foundation that Senator Harkin has provided."
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 470,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
