#Farming4Habitat: Fish And Wildlife Reap Benefits Of Farm Bill Programs

Protracted drought conditions and poor farming practices combined to generate massive dust storms that sent America’s Bread Basket soil thousands of miles across the country and over the Eastern seaboard then into the Atlantic. It brought the emergency of the situation to full view above the halls of Congress and the American people.

As a result, Congress worked with economic, agriculture and environmental experts to craft the first legislation to stabilize the agricultural industry and food supply, support farming families who fed America and help them implement practices to conserve soil and water.

That first “Farm Bill” included the Soil Conservation Act of 1935 that established the Soil Conservation Service (later to be renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service in 1994) and set the foundation for a long-standing history of natural resource conservation priorities in the Farm Bill, which is renewed around every five years.

Many popular private and public lands conservation programs were born in various versions of the Farm Bill over its nearly 100-year history, and among those programs, many are still in existence today. They support a wide variety of benefits for soil and water conservation, the climate, fish and wildlife, and outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing.

At the heart of the effort are incentive programs that pay farmers to set aside portions of their land from planting and/or production. In return for a rental payment in lieu of harvest profits, the farmers agree to manage those enrolled acres for soil, water and wildlife conservation. Most of these programs are administered by the NRCS.

Programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program help farmers and private landowners convert poor cropland into native grasses and tree stands, in turn supporting soil integrity and erosion reduction. These stands also improve water quality by filtering fertilizer and other chemical and biological runoff from crop irrigation and livestock; conserve water by reducing irrigated acres; and, when managed, provide vital habitat for wild turkeys and many other species, some of which are threatened or endangered, like red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises and more. CRP was first included in the 1985 Farm Bill.

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetlands Reserve Easements support and restore water quality and wetland habitats that have been degraded by agricultural practices. Wetlands such as marshes, swamps, sloughs, prairie potholes and surrounding woodlands and grasslands, provide breeding, young-rearing and feeding habitat for fish, waterfowl, wading birds, songbirds, upland birds, small and large mammals and a host of other species. These easements provide permanent or long-term protection for vital wetland ecosystems and bordering habitats, recharge ground water, filter sediments and chemicals and many other environmental benefits. WRE was established in the 1990 Farm Bill.

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program is the largest of the working lands programs. It provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns, such as water and air quality; ground and surface water; soil health, erosion and sedimentation; wildlife habitat; and drought and weather volatility. Rather than take land out of production, like CRP, EQIP helps farmers maintain or improve production while conserving natural resources. EQIP was initially authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill, and it replaced four programs repealed in that bill, which included the Great Plains Conservation Program, the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.

The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program provides funding to help state and tribal governments encourage landowners to allow public access to their land for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. In addition to increasing available lands for public recreation, it encourages landowners to improve wildlife habitat on these lands through an incentive program. Only states and tribes can apply for these federal grants, but landowners and hunters/anglers benefit from the added access, as well as improved habitat for pursuing recreational opportunities. It was created in 2008 and has opened up nearly a million acres for public access for hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife viewing.

Under the Conservation Stewardship Program NRCS works one-on-one with producers to identify natural resource deficiencies on production land and develop a conservation plan that outlines and enhances existing conservation efforts, using new practices or activities. Producers implement their conservation plan that expands on the benefits of cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving agricultural operations.

For nearly 100 years, conservation has been a key objective of the Farm Bill. Its many programs are foundational to the improvement of fish and wildlife habitat and natural resources on public, private and working lands across America. To learn more about available programs and to see if there is one or more that fit your property objectives, visit nrcs.usda.gov.

Through the Years: Conservation in the Farm Bill

• 1935 – The first “Farm Bill” introduced.
• 1985 – Conservation Reserve Program established.
• 1990 – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetlands Reserve Easements established.
• 1996 – Environmental Quality Incentives Program established.
• 2008 – Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program created.
• 2008 – Conservation Stewardship Program introduced.