Senators Introduce Legislation to Strengthen the Conservation Reserve Program

 

Bipartisan bill aims to modernize and enhance one of America’s most effective wildlife habitat programs.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the nation’s most important federal programs for supporting wildlife habitat. Introduced in the 1985 Farm Bill, the Conservation Reserve Program incentivizes landowners to put a portion of their land into conservation cover, particularly on acres that would be more productive as wildlife habitat than they are for crops. It is currently responsible for creating, maintaining, and enhancing nearly 27 million acres of habitat across the U.S. But due to lack of progress in passing a full, five-year Farm Bill, the program hasn’t had a policy update since 2018. 

Thankfully, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are showing their support for strengthening the CRP. On July 31st, Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act (S.2608).  

The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act would: 

• Reestablish cost-share for CRP mid-contract management, encouraging the management that is best for the habitat instead of the cheapest way to comply. 

• Finally raise the CRP’s 40-year-old payment limitations to reflect inflation and modern land values. 

• Support grassland management through managed livestock grazing by providing cost-share for grazing infrastructure like fencing and water development. 

• Permanently establish State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) as a practice under CRP’s Continuous Enrollment option. 

• Change CRP emergency haying provisions to provide better quality forage for livestock producers in times of drought while preventing damage to wildlife habitat both within and across growing seasons. 

“The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act is an excellent example of lawmakers working across the aisle and among multiple stakeholders to find practical solutions,” said TRCP’s director of private lands conservation Aaron Field. “We are grateful to Majority Leader Thune, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Senator Moran, and Senator Smith for their leadership and pragmatism on improving this critical program for hunters.” 

“Ensuring that CRP continues to be an effective option for producers and landowners is critical to South Dakota’s agriculture industry,” said Senator John Thune (R-S.D.). “As a longtime supporter of CRP, I’m proud to lead this commonsense legislation that would help advance the multiple-use benefits of this conservation program, including wildlife habitat and livestock forage potential.” 

“The Conservation Reserve Program helps equip our farmers with the tools to conserve and improve soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). “This bipartisan legislation makes commonsense improvements to CRP that will strengthen conservation practices and landowner enrollment in this vital program.” 

The Conservation Reserve Program has been one of the nation’s most important conservation programs for nearly 40 years. Many of the species we love to pursue find habitat in farm country thanks to the CRP. Without the CRP, pheasant numbers would plummet, the northern plains states would lose much of their best duck breeding habitat, sage grouse in the West would be at even greater risk, and brook trout would decline in Eastern headwaters. Put simply, without the CRP, millions of sportsmen and women would lose hunting and fishing opportunities across rural America.  

Learn more about the Conservation Reserve Program and other Farm Bill conservation programs HERE.