Media Contacts
Cat Lazaroff
Communications Director
(202)
772-3270
Christine Merker
Communications Coordinator
(202) 772-0284
Not a journalist but need help? Contact our Member Services
team:
1-800-385-9712
Sign up for our Press List
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
For Immediate Release
Defenders Praises Farm Bill Conservation Provisions Introduced By Rep. Ron Kind
Washington, DC -- Defenders of Wildlife praised the conservation provisions in the Healthy Farms, Food and Fuels Act for providing assistance to help the nation’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters to be good stewards of their land. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA) led today’s introduction in the House, while Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
"The farm bill provides critical resources that will assist landowners to protect the natural resources on our nation's farm and ranchland, and we support the Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act's efforts to expand these programs," stated Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife president. "A vast majority of our nation's lands are devoted to agriculture and forestry, and the federal government should invest in programs that enable landowners to manage their land in a conservation-conscious way."
Specific improvements in the conservation programs addressed in the Healthy Farms, Foods and Fuels Act include:
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) – Provides up to $300 million annually toward protection and improvement of wildlife habitat, with incentive payments for strategic conservation initiatives.
Farm and Ranchland Protection, Healthy Forests Reserve Program and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) – Provides $300 million per year to protect lands threatened by development and protects 10 million acres of grassland and shrubland, including 2 million acres of important native grasslands.
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) – Expands the program to 5 million acres and allows the permanent protection of important riparian wetlands.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) – Allows more buffers along rivers that can filter runoff to improve water quality and protect vulnerable wildlife habitat.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – Provides funds for energy conservation projects and strategic wildlife conservation projects, allows funds to be used to proactively prevent conflicts between wildlife and livestock, and establishes reserved funds which can be used to improve the stewardship of private forest lands.
Promotes Strategic Conservation - Coordinates with the state Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies to ensure that WHIP, WRP, GRP and EQIP produce meaningful, strategically-directed results for high priority wildlife and habitats.
"Since the farm bill is only reauthorized once every five years, it is absolutely vital that its conservation programs provide vital support and funding to assist our nation's farmers, ranchers and foresters to serve as the best possible land stewards," said Schlickeisen. "I applaud Congressman Kind's leadership on the Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act and commend the high priority this bill places on integrating conservation with farming, forestry and ranching."
"Defenders looks forward to continuing to work with Rep. Kind and members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to ensure that the new farm bill provides strong conservation programs for our nation's farmers, ranchers and foresters," concluded Schlickeisen.
###
Defenders of Wildlife is recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 500,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife works with federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, private organizations, and landowners to protect America's national wildlife refuges.
