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For Immediate Release
New Cardoza Farm Bill Hailed For Its Strong Conservation Programs And Incentive Initiatives
Washington, DC -- Rep. Dennis Cardoza's EAT Healthy America Act, introduced today, is a leading example of how to expand conservation programs and fund the stewardship and incentives programs in the Farm Bill, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
"The conservation provisions in Rep. Cardoza's bill provide farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners the opportunity and resources they need to increase their land stewardship," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. "Private landowners across the country are the backbone of land conservation, and this bill gives them the necessary tools and funding to do more to protect our nation's wildlife and natural habitat."
Conservation provisions endorsed by Defenders in the EAT Healthy America Act include:
- Coordination with the state Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies
to ensure that the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), the Wetlands
Reserve Program (WRP), and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
produce meaningful, strategically-directed results for high priority wildlife
and habitats
-
Expanding WHIP to $300 million annually, increasing the proportion of
funding that can be dedicated to long-term cost-share agreements
-
Increasing the Grasslands Reserve Program to 10 million acres and
establishing a Grasslands Reserve Enhancement Program
-
Expanding WRP to 5 million acres and making riparian areas eligible for
enrollment, which will help protect and restore critically important wetlands in
the arid regions of our nation
-
Incorporating into the EQIP program proactive predator deterrence measures,
such as livestock carcass removal, which helps ranchers and farmers by reducing
the conflict between threatened predators, like wolves and grizzlies, and
livestock
- Creating the cooperative conservation education assistance program, which offers loan assistance to agricultural sciences graduates in exchange for their commitment of service to NRCS, thus increasing vital conservation technical assistance resources.
"Through comprehensive and fully funded conservation programs, Defenders is confident our nation's private land stewards will continue to care for essential habitat that our nation's wildlife depend upon," said Schlickeisen. "Rep. Cardoza's bill fulfills this conservation vision by preserving, improving and fully funding the farm bill conservation programs."
Defenders of Wildlife looks forward to continuing to work with Rep. Cardoza, his colleagues on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and Congress to ensure that the next Farm Bill includes the resources and direction necessary to expand and improve these important conservation programs.
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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
