The Association of Fish
and Wildlife Agencies supported the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in producing the 2014 Farm Bill FieldGuide to Fish and Wildlife Conservation. Now available, this field guide is a tool to assist the staff of
federal and state fish and wildlife agencies, nongovernmental conservation
organizations, joint ventures and other conservation partners in implementing
Farm Bill conservation programs.
More than two-thirds of the land area in the United States is
privately owned, with 914 million acres in farms or ranches
and approximately 300 million acres in private forest. These working
lands, which represent much of the country’s remaining open space and
habitat, are vitally important to the conservation of soil, water and fish
and wildlife resources. The Agricultural Act of 2014, the most
recently enacted Farm Bill, dedicates approximately $28 billion dollars
until 2018 for conservation.
The 2014 Farm Bill Field Guide to Fish andWildlife Conservation was designed primarily as an introduction for fish and wildlife conservation
providers—the on-the-ground biologists and conservation partners who help
deliver Farm Bill conservation programs to landowners. The goal is to
provide these practitioners with a tool to better understand the Farm
Bill and how its programs can help landowners conserve fish and
wildlife habitat.
The guide provides an overview of the Conservation Title in the 2014
Farm Bill as well as Farm Bill history, program delivery, the role of partnerships
and priority setting. It also features case studies and details on the following
programs: the Conservation Reserve Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement
Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Innovation
Grants, Conservation Stewardship Program, Healthy Forests Reserve Program,
Regional Conservation Partnership Program and Voluntary Public Access and
Habitat Incentive Program.
To download the Farm Bill Field Guide or to
request a printed copy, go to http://amjv.org/index.php/2014farmbillfieldguide.
A diverse coalition of
habitat conservation organizations helped the North American Bird Conservation
Initiative prepare and publish this guide, including:
