New Practitioner’s Guide Available for Fish and Wildlife Conservation Providers to Help Landowners Access Farm Bill Programs

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:

Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture

Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies

Intermountain West Joint Venture

The Nature Conservancy

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Point Blue Conservation Science

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory

> Learn more about AFWA’s Agricultural Conservation Focus Area

Increased Opportunities for Public Outdoor Recreation Coming Thanks to the 2014 Farm Bill’s Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program

Photo by George Andrejko

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today opened a new application period under the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), which harnesses the power of partnerships to create win-win opportunities for private landowners, science-based fish and wildlife conservation and the public.

The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized the VPA-HIP with $40 million in total funding for state and tribal government programs to encourage owners and operators of privately held land to voluntarily make that land available for wildlife habitat improvements and public access for hunting, fishing and other wildlife-dependent recreation. 

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies commends the leadership of Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Thad Cochran (MS) and Congressmen Frank Lucas (OK) and Collin Peterson (MA) for supporting funding this program.

By helping to increase access and opportunities for hunting and fishing, the VPA-HIP in turn also helps to generate financial resources for state agencies to manage fish and wildlife and their habitats in the public interest.

Hunters and anglers are the nation’s foremost funders of state-based conservation as a result of their purchases of licenses and specially taxed gear. America’s sportsmen and women also deliver a more than $200 billion economic impact to the U.S. economy, especially in many rural and local communities.

NRCS is accepting applications for this round of the VPA-HIP through April 24, 2015 and the agency anticipates that up to $20 million will be available for this important competitive block grant program. If all $20 million available in this round is allocated, it will be the last VPA-HIP funding opportunity under this Farm Bill—which expires September 30, 2018—unless Congress appropriates additional funds.

The full announcement from NRCS is available at

www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=voluntary%20public%20access%20and%20habitat.