The Importance of Restoring Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands
President Theodore Roosevelt designated the islands, which provide key habitat for waterfowl, sportfish, and sea turtles, as the second-ever National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S.
Louisiana’s extensive barrier islands are among the many features that distinguish the state from its Gulf of Mexico neighbors, as well as every other Atlantic Basin state.
Certainly, others have barrier islands and extensive beach shorelines. However, none of them have the unique and numerous mix of headlands and back-barrier marshes of the Bayou State, thanks to the shifting deltas and fertility of the Mississippi River.
While the brown river silt and thick, sometimes rotten-smelling mud isn’t the tourist attraction of white sand and high-rise hotels, the fish, crabs and, especially, native and migrating birds sure do love those “ugly” beaches and marshes.
Singling out one barrier island or even a chain of barrier islands as most important or most unique is difficult. They all serve multiple purposes as vital habitat for fish and birds (and fishermen and bird watchers) and all play a crucial role in knocking down storm surge and protecting more sensitive inland wetlands and communities from bearing the brunt of the strongest hurricane waves. The Chandeleur Islands, though, stand out.
Tens of thousands of redheads and other ducks utilize the Chandeleur Islands each winter. Image credit: Teddy Llovet
A special place
The Chandeleurs are home to the northern Gulf of Mexico’s largest seagrass bed, encompassing more than 5,000 acres and providing food and shelter for innumerable fish, mammals, sea turtles, and birds.
It may come as a shock to most Louisiana waterfowlers that tens of thousands of diving ducks, particularly redheads, spend part of their winter on northern Chandeleur’s massive grass flats. An estimated 40,000-50,000 birds utilize the islands each winter and more than 30,000 sea birds make their nests on the islands annually.
The islands’ remote nature has left them unmolested, but also passed up for large-scale restoration projects.
Those flats also attract sea turtles, most notably endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles. Biologists believed for decades Kemp’s ridleys, while ranging Gulf-wide and along the Atlantic Coast, only nested in Mexico and South Texas. Not so, according to a host of recent findings by Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) that show dozens of nesting sites along the Chandeleur’s beaches.
Critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, like the one shown here in Florida, nest on and forage near the Chandeleurs. Image credit: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Of course, Louisiana anglers and saltwater fishing enthusiasts world-wide know the Chandeleurs for their massive schools of redfish, extraordinary speckled trout production, enormous populations of sharks, and even as a stopping and feeding spot for migrating tarpon coming from Florida each summer to feast on pogies and mullet near the Mississippi’s mouth.
This remarkable bounty of fish and wildlife prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to designate the islands as the Breton National Wildlife Refuge in 1904, the second-ever National Wildlife Refuge established in the United States.
Access Is a Challenge
There’s no such thing as an easy trip to northern Chandeleur Island. It’s more than 30 miles across a lot of open water from any launching spot along the Mississippi coast. Add a dozen or more miles to that from popular Louisiana ports.
Its remote nature has left the islands mostly unmolested by people and keeps predators like foxes, racoons, and other egg eaters away from bird and turtle nests. But, because the islands are so far away from the mainland, it also meant they were often passed up for large-scale restoration projects.
The storm surge reduction benefits just didn’t score as highly as islands in the Barataria or Terrebonne basins, while the distance from shore meant additional expenses in moving material and manpower on site. Facing limited budgets, state coastal planners had to pick islands that had the most combined benefits for both people and animals.
Construction could begin in 2026 to restore more than 13 miles of the barrier island chain.
Ironically, it’s the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster that changed the equation for the Chandeleurs. The impacts to sea turtles, birds, fish, and other wildlife across the northern Gulf means habitat restoration and enhancement is weighted as much or more than storm surge reduction and coastal community protection when it comes to spending oil spill fines.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill fouled many of Louisiana’s barrier island beaches. Image credit: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
The Time Is Now
Louisiana’s CPRA is trying to secure an approximate $280-plus million from various oil-spill penalty funds, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund as well as donations from nonprofit groups like Ducks Unlimited. Should the CPRA succeed, construction could begin in 2026 to restore more than 13 miles of beaches as well as sand dunes and pockets of back barrier marshes.
Here’s hoping CPRA succeeds. The Chandeleurs’ beaches and dunes are miniscule now compared to the estimated 11,000 acres there when Roosevelt established the refuge. Hurricanes, especially Georges in 1998 and, of course, Katrina in 2005 have ripped the islands apart, contributing to the loss of more than 90 percent of the landmass over the last 100 years.
Louisiana has lost far too much coastal habitat in the last century. That land loss has contributed to the slow erosion of a cultural identity intrinsic to the people of the Sportsman’s Paradise. Hopefully, restoring the Chandeleurs will play a big role in making sure that identity is passed on to the next generation of Louisiana sportsmen and women.
Every barrier island in Louisiana between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River has been restored and enhanced in some way in the last 25 years. It’s time the northern stretches of the Chandeleurs get their turn.
The Importance of Restoring Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands
President Theodore Roosevelt designated the islands, which provide key habitat for waterfowl, sportfish, and sea turtles, as the second-ever National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S.
Louisiana’s extensive barrier islands are among the many features that distinguish the state from its Gulf of Mexico neighbors, as well as every other Atlantic Basin state.
Certainly, others have barrier islands and extensive beach shorelines. However, none of them have the unique and numerous mix of headlands and back-barrier marshes of the Bayou State, thanks to the shifting deltas and fertility of the Mississippi River.
While the brown river silt and thick, sometimes rotten-smelling mud isn’t the tourist attraction of white sand and high-rise hotels, the fish, crabs and, especially, native and migrating birds sure do love those “ugly” beaches and marshes.
Singling out one barrier island or even a chain of barrier islands as most important or most unique is difficult. They all serve multiple purposes as vital habitat for fish and birds (and fishermen and bird watchers) and all play a crucial role in knocking down storm surge and protecting more sensitive inland wetlands and communities from bearing the brunt of the strongest hurricane waves. The Chandeleur Islands, though, stand out.
Tens of thousands of redheads and other ducks utilize the Chandeleur Islands each winter. Image credit: Teddy Llovet
A special place
The Chandeleurs are home to the northern Gulf of Mexico’s largest seagrass bed, encompassing more than 5,000 acres and providing food and shelter for innumerable fish, mammals, sea turtles, and birds.
It may come as a shock to most Louisiana waterfowlers that tens of thousands of diving ducks, particularly redheads, spend part of their winter on northern Chandeleur’s massive grass flats. An estimated 40,000-50,000 birds utilize the islands each winter and more than 30,000 sea birds make their nests on the islands annually.
The islands’ remote nature has left them unmolested, but also passed up for large-scale restoration projects.
Those flats also attract sea turtles, most notably endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles. Biologists believed for decades Kemp’s ridleys, while ranging Gulf-wide and along the Atlantic Coast, only nested in Mexico and South Texas. Not so, according to a host of recent findings by Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) that show dozens of nesting sites along the Chandeleur’s beaches.
Critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, like the one shown here in Florida, nest on and forage near the Chandeleurs. Image credit: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Of course, Louisiana anglers and saltwater fishing enthusiasts world-wide know the Chandeleurs for their massive schools of redfish, extraordinary speckled trout production, enormous populations of sharks, and even as a stopping and feeding spot for migrating tarpon coming from Florida each summer to feast on pogies and mullet near the Mississippi’s mouth.
This remarkable bounty of fish and wildlife prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to designate the islands as the Breton National Wildlife Refuge in 1904, the second-ever National Wildlife Refuge established in the United States.
Access Is a Challenge
There’s no such thing as an easy trip to northern Chandeleur Island. It’s more than 30 miles across a lot of open water from any launching spot along the Mississippi coast. Add a dozen or more miles to that from popular Louisiana ports.
Its remote nature has left the islands mostly unmolested by people and keeps predators like foxes, racoons, and other egg eaters away from bird and turtle nests. But, because the islands are so far away from the mainland, it also meant they were often passed up for large-scale restoration projects.
The storm surge reduction benefits just didn’t score as highly as islands in the Barataria or Terrebonne basins, while the distance from shore meant additional expenses in moving material and manpower on site. Facing limited budgets, state coastal planners had to pick islands that had the most combined benefits for both people and animals.
Construction could begin in 2026 to restore more than 13 miles of the barrier island chain.
Ironically, it’s the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster that changed the equation for the Chandeleurs. The impacts to sea turtles, birds, fish, and other wildlife across the northern Gulf means habitat restoration and enhancement is weighted as much or more than storm surge reduction and coastal community protection when it comes to spending oil spill fines.
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill fouled many of Louisiana’s barrier island beaches. Image credit: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
The Time Is Now
Louisiana’s CPRA is trying to secure an approximate $280-plus million from various oil-spill penalty funds, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund as well as donations from nonprofit groups like Ducks Unlimited. Should the CPRA succeed, construction could begin in 2026 to restore more than 13 miles of beaches as well as sand dunes and pockets of back barrier marshes.
Here’s hoping CPRA succeeds. The Chandeleurs’ beaches and dunes are miniscule now compared to the estimated 11,000 acres there when Roosevelt established the refuge. Hurricanes, especially Georges in 1998 and, of course, Katrina in 2005 have ripped the islands apart, contributing to the loss of more than 90 percent of the landmass over the last 100 years.
Louisiana has lost far too much coastal habitat in the last century. That land loss has contributed to the slow erosion of a cultural identity intrinsic to the people of the Sportsman’s Paradise. Hopefully, restoring the Chandeleurs will play a big role in making sure that identity is passed on to the next generation of Louisiana sportsmen and women.
Every barrier island in Louisiana between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River has been restored and enhanced in some way in the last 25 years. It’s time the northern stretches of the Chandeleurs get their turn.
Expert Panel Discusses the Importance of a Healthy Rio Grande to Sustaining Communities and Outdoor Recreation
TRCP gathered conservation leaders, recreational businesses, policy experts, and media at the 2024 OWAA Annual Conference to discuss the importance of a healthy Rio Grande
(El Paso, Texas) – The Thedore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership joined outdoor media and professionals at the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s annual conference in El Paso, Texas, to connect and learn from more than 150 outdoor storytellers – and the non-profits, brands, and communities that support their work.
As part of the conference, the TRCP hosted a panel discussion, moderated by Christian Fauser, the organization’s western water policy associate, to engage the outdoor writing community on the importance of a healthy Rio Grande in sustaining communities and outdoor recreation; what regional partners are doing to address river challenges; and how outdoor writers can help elevate the profile of this crucial watershed.
The Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is the third longest river in the continental US and is a source of life for more than 13 million people and countless unique wildlife species and ecosystems. The river also supports a vibrant outdoor recreational community and economy built around iconic landscapes such as Great Sand Dunes and Big Bend National Parks and a string of National Wildlife Refuges critical to sustaining migratory birds and other wildlife important to hunters, anglers, and wildlife watchers. The Rio Grande also faces tremendous challenges from a changing climate, dealing with the impacts of wildfires and drought, and declining water supplies.
Panelists included: Ashley Beyer, Southern Regional Director for US Senator Martin Heinrich; Martha Pskowski, El Paso-based energy and environment reporter for Inside Climate News; Toner Mitchell, Trout Unlimited New Mexico Water and Habitat Coordinator; and Mike Davidson, co-founder of Far Flung Adventures, and professional river guide.
The panelists provided crucial insights to the outdoor writers, non-profits organizations, businesses, and media on:
The biggest water and climate-related threats facing the Rio Grande and current opportunities to address these challenges.
Opportunities for cross-watershed coordination and collaboration to address water resource challenges.
How the Rio Grande, compared to other watersheds, receives less attention in national media despite its importance as a vital water source for drinking, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and fish and wildlife; and how this lack of national media attention arguably does a disservice to addressing water-related challenges on the river in terms of attention by federal and state policymakers.
Learn more about TRCP’s commitment to habitat and clean water here
Photo credit: NPS Photo/Jennette Jurado
The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.
Almost all of the nation’s 30 Estuarine Research Reserves allow rod and gun recreation, and we can help ensure they receive continued Congressional support
If you’re a seasoned saltwater angler, you know that healthy estuaries mean healthy sportfish populations. Take the Chesapeake Bay or Florida Everglades, for example. Without these semi-enclosed, shallow-water systems and the menhaden, mullet, ballyhoo, herring, and other forage fish and crustaceans they support, there would be no recreational fishing because there would be no sportfish left that rely on them. What you might not know is that there’s a system of research reserves around the nation that for more than 50 years has been dedicated to conserving coastal habitat, while offering hunting and angling opportunities, youth education, and community support.
Reserves span all U.S. coastlines, and more have designations underway or have been proposed. Credit: NERRA
The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 30 coastal sites designated to protect and study the nation’s diverse estuarine systems, with sites on every coast and the Great Lakes. Funding is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies with matching state and private funds, and the reserves are managed by a state agency or university with input from local partners.
95 percent of the reserves allow fishing and 85 percent permit hunting.
The reserves span the breadth of the country’s highly varied estuarine habitats, such as mangrove forests, beaches, salt marshes, rocky intertidal zones, oyster reefs, and mud flats, and most contain extensive submerged aquatic vegetation that provides critical fish habitat. These reserves also provide public access to more than 1.4 million acres of coastal lands and waters.
A waterman harvesting blue crabs at the Chesapeake Bay Research Reserve.
“They protect places and people all around the coasts,” said Rebecca Roth, executive director of the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA), a non-regulatory body that supports the system of reserves. “Every reserve is there because people cared passionately about the place and worked hard to get it designated.”
Benefits For Recreation, Education, & Economies
Over decades, National Estuarine Research Reserves have created a national dataset that provides a record of how coastal weather, water quality, sea levels, habitat, and vegetation have changed over time – all collected, synthesized, and analyzed according to stringent standards, to be used by scientists, resource managers, and others. Roth says the reserves also address climate change concerns at each site 365 days of the year, to track short-term changes and long-term trends on the coasts.
“We are the only national network that comes with a standardized estuary monitoring program, integrated science and education programs, strong connections to local communities, and a dedication to sharing what is learned across a national network,” Roth said.
Reserves provide key opportunities for education and training for outreach efforts about the data collected there. They demonstrate the value of conserving habitat to schoolkids and people of all ages, with more than 73,000 K-12 students benefiting in 2022 alone, and coordinate citizen science and volunteer cleanup efforts. Each year they sustain more than 10,000 jobs – providing significant local economic inputs – and are visited by more than 650,000 recreationists.
Anglers fishing near the site of the designated Atchafalaya Reserve in Louisiana. Credit: Cajun Coast Tourism
“Coastal reserves protect essential breeding habitats, act as natural buffers against rising sea levels, and support species adaptation to climate change,” said Jamelle Ellis, TRCP senior scientist. “By preserving ecosystems, they enhance climate resilience for wildlife and ensure sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities.”
The management plans that direct current reserves allow for recreational fishing in 28 of the 30 sites, and hunting in 25 of them. Regardless of whether sporting is allowed on these properties, however, all provide nurseries for species like sportfish and the forage fish they depend on for food. The wetlands and shellfish reefs they protect also help filter water and their lands serve as terrestrial habitat refuges for game species like deer and waterfowl to ensure more robust local populations. Other recreation activities popular at these sites include bird watching, hiking, and paddling.
NERRA’s Roth says that as more and more coastal lands are developed, the reserves become even more important as habitat for game species and places where anglers can target inshore species like redfish and striped bass. “We know that 75 percent of all fish caught begin their life in the nursery grounds of an estuary,” said Roth. “When you protect these waters and provide proper stewardship of the lands that surround them, you protect the nursery.”
Whitetail deer caught on a game camera at Guana Tolomata Matanzas Research Reserve in northern Florida. Credit: NERRS
A Long History
In the late ‘60s, America’s coasts were under intense pressure from population growth and development was taking a toll on coastal lands, waters, and wildlife. As a result, in 1972 Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act to set national policy to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance, the resources of the Nation’s coastal zone.” The act provided a backbone for creating the Research Reserve System. Through this act, states maintain rights to sustainably manage their own coasts while receiving federal financial and technical support. The act would later authorize the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP), which protects ecologically important coastal lands and those with other values, such as recreational opportunities or historic features.
The CZMA has been amended 11 times since its initial passage to expand authorities and add focus areas, and NERRA is seeking in this federal legislative session for Congress to again reauthorize and update the reserve program and authorize funding for the Reserve System and the coast and estuarine land conservation program. Congress has not provided authorizations for either the national reserve system or CELCP since fiscal years 1999 and 2013, respectively.
Researchers measure a salmon at the Kachemak Bay Reserve in Alaska.
“This has major implications for habitat protections, as the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program under the CZMA has already protected more than 100,000 acres using matched federal and state funding,” said David Pelikan, TRCP climate resilience program manager.
As it does every year, NERRA is requesting that Congress provide funding to address operations, research, facilities, and procurement and acquisition of new properties. Authorized funding amounts to reflect the needs of the coastal communities are being sought through passage of H.R. 6841, the Resilient Coasts and Estuaries Act, which was introduced in Congress last December. The bill would direct NOAA to designate five new reserves, significantly increasing the areas studied and protected and creating many more opportunities for angling and other public recreation, more habitat for fisheries, more coastal lands to protect communities from extreme weather, and more opportunities for businesses that rely on healthy coastal environments. The bill also would establish in statute existing reserve programs like Coastal Training that support fisheries, businesses, and communities and direct their execution as a matter of national policy, to ensure that these programs continue to serve communities in the future.
What Are Specific Reserves Doing?
There are too many research reserves to allow detailed descriptions of each. Below are a few examples to demonstrate the breadth and variety of the system.
Rookery Bay
Rookery Bay Research Reserve offers great fishing for snook (seen here) and other inshore species. Credit: Josh Greer
Located in southwest Florida near Naples, the Rookery Bay Research Reserve offers spectacular fishing, teeming with inshore fish species like redfish, snook, and tarpon in its extensive mangrove habitats, and provides refuge for more than 50 species of birds. It offers an environmental learning center, and as part of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, its wetlands benefits from clean water coming south and serves as a final filter for water entering the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. This reserve is closely tied into the local community and has used its offices to convene emergency responders during hurricanes. This is one of three reserves in Florida.
With more than 30 miles of waterfront on the Maryland side of the Bay, the Chesapeake Bay Research Reserve offers extensive fishing access over oyster reefs and seagrass beds for inshore species like redfish and flounder – as well as edible invasive species like blue catfish – plus habitat for baitfish like menhaden, 44 miles of hiking/paddling trails, and a nature discovery center targeting youths. A similar reserve also exists on the Virginia portion of the Bay.
Kachemak Bay
Home to chinook and coho salmon, halibut, whales, and many seabirds, the Kachemak Bay Reserve’s research on juvenile salmon supports Alaska’s $595 million-dollar commercial fishing industry. Also, commercial fishermen are brought upstream of the reserve to learn firsthand about the importance of protecting the watershed’s habitat to benefit salmon and jobs that depend on them. The reserve brings $1.2 million of federal and state finding to the local economy each year and helps recreational shellfish harvesters respond to toxic algal blooms.
Any new reserves must permit existing recreational fishing and hunting.
Coming Soon
Designations are already underway for two new reserves in the U.S. – in Louisiana and Wisconsin. More will be added if Congress reauthorizes the CZMA. A third site in the U.S. Virgin Islands also would be advanced in its designation status, and a reserve in Michigan and new sites in Maine and Florida are in the pipeline. Any new reserve must permit existing commercial/recreational fishing, hunting, and other cultural uses.
An angler net casting at the site of the designated reserve in the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana. Credit: Cajun Coast Tourism
A Louisiana reserve is already in the final review process for its designation. This site is located in the Atchafalaya Basin of the Mississippi River Delta and would support not only local fisheries and economies, but also protect coastal habitats, ensure a perpetual undeveloped buffer to protect communities from the more frequent and severe storms expected because of climate change, and create better access to the Atchafalaya Basin and its delta system of over 4,000 acres of wetlands. The reserve will also allow the opportunity to educate the public about sea level rise, land subsidence, and the importance of restoring more natural sediment flows from the Mississippi to build back land and wetland habitat.
Ag Committee Leaders Continue Spelling Out Plans for the Next Farm Bill
Farm Bill proposals gain momentum as Ag Committee leaders make tangible progress.
We’re now over halfway through a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, and several years of work have already gone into making sure the next Farm Bill is a good one for fish and wildlife, as well as hunters and anglers. Behind the scenes, this work has never stopped, whether we’re talking about Ag Committee Members, Congressional staff, or the conservation community. But from the outside, deadlock, gridlock, and election year politics have made getting a bill done this year look increasingly unlikely. But optimism persists and perseverance endures.
Recently we’ve been seeing tangible progress from the Ag committees. In the House, Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-Pa) passed his bill out of committee on May 24th. In the Senate, we have a detailed section-by-section breakdown of Chairwoman Stabenow’s (D-Mich) proposal and a framework from Ranking Member Boozman (R-Ark).
Before we get into the substance of each proposal, there are a few things to remember:
Farm Bills must be bipartisan to become law. With Democrats controlling the Senate and a Republican majority in the House, bipartisanship will be essential. These frameworks were produced by the Ag Committee Chair or Ranking member of their respective chamber, and disagreements exist between parties or among constituencies at this point. We can be certain that a final farm bill will look different and contain more points of compromise than these frameworks. Thankfully, Ag Committee leadership from both parties has a long history of navigating the challenges that come with bipartisanship.
Farm Bills are huge. All twelve titles (topic-based sections) of the Farm Bill impact hunters and anglers in one way or another, but Title II – Conservation and Title VIII – Forestry get most of our attention, and for good reason. Our review of proposals will focus on those two titles, but disagreements about other titles will need to be overcome for a bill to pass.
Negotiations will continue. Nothing in these proposals is set in stone. The first formal action was the House Ag Committee’s markup on May 23rd. In this markup, committee members offered amendments to the Chairman’s bill, spoke for or against individual provisions, and voted to advance the bill to a Floor vote, which is unlikely to happen before at least September. Changes are also likely through Floor amendments and during a Conference Committee between the House and Senate, once the Senate moves forward with a bill. All of this to say, what we’re seeing in these proposals is not necessarily what will become law.
A lot must be done in a short time. We are in an election year, and a presidential election year at that. While this will motivate some Members of Congress to show efficacy in getting a Farm Bill done, party conferences and campaigning also compress the legislative calendar. It is also likely that the Appropriations process will eat up a lot of floor time this summer. Odds are growing slimmer that Floor action on a farm bill will occur before the election, but a path toward passing a bill in this Congress still exists.
Farm Bill programs have a huge impact on hunters and anglers. Engaging in this bill is crucial, as policy and funding changes in this Farm Bill will impact fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing access for the next five years and beyond. You can watch short explanations on how Farm Bill programs support hunters and anglers below:
You can watch short explanations on how Farm Bill programs support hunters and anglers below:
Keeping these dynamics in mind, let’s dig in. What exactly is in the proposals? How might they impact habitat, fish, wildlife, and our sporting traditions? Below, we run through a few of the key elements of the proposals from Ag Committee leadership.
Chairman Thompson’s Overview
After a busy few weeks of Farm Bill proposals, House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson introduced his bill on May 21st. Titled the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, Chairman Thompson’s bill represents several years of work. The Chairman and his staff, as well as Ranking Member David Scott (D-Ga.) and the rest of the Ag Committee Members, have traveled the country hearing from stakeholders, reviewed and discussed thousands of individual and coalition priorities, considered dozens of marker bills, and held several formal Committee hearings. On Thursday, May 23rd, the Committee debated this bill, proposed amendments, and ultimately advanced it to the House floor. Given the importance of the Farm Bill to hunters and anglers, and the difficulty of the task, we are excited to have a bill to review and formal committee action toward passing it.
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 would:
Reallocate Inflation Reduction Act funding for conservation programs into the Farm Bill Conservation baseline.
This piece of the bill alone would be a huge win for hunters and anglers, and it has both bipartisan and bicameral support. It is also urgent, with the amount of funding available decreasing with time. There is still considerable disagreement about how this should be done, including to what extent climate mitigation remains a focus of these funds and which programs receive the bulk of the funding, but we remain hopeful that these disagreements will be resolved, and we can see the first meaningful increase to the Conservation Title in years.
Increase funding for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program to $150 million and provide program continuity.
The Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Improvement Program is the only federal program designed to incentivize landowners to allow public hunting and fishing. The TRCP and our partners have been leading the charge to reauthorize and plus-up VPA-HIP, as was proposed in the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act, and we are thrilled to see that Chairman Thompson’s proposal does just that. This proposal provides for the continuity of VPA-HIP, which means that in future Farm Bills we would begin in a much stronger negotiating position thanks to the program having mandatory, dedicated funding.
Make multiple changes to the Conservation Reserve Program.
The Chairman’s bill appears to include changes proposed in several CRP marker bills, including the CRP Improvement Act. On the positive side, these changes would increase rental payment rates on marginal cropland, restore cost-share for mid-contract management activities, increase incentive payments, and increase payment limitations. These taken together are significant improvements. On the negative side, this bill would reduce rental rates for CRP reenrollments, allow early cancellation of contracts, and remove some of the wildlife focus of Grassland CRP, which could be detrimental to initiatives like Working Lands for Wildlife or the Migratory Big Game Initiative.
Support voluntary conservation easement programs.
Conservation easements provide the most durable habitat protection of any Farm Bill program, and landowner demand for them has long exceeded funding by a huge margin. Chairman Thompson’s bill makes multiple positive changes to easement programs, including increased funding across the board, creating a new Forest Conservation Easement Program with mandatory funding, improving management opportunities on existing wetland easements, and increasing cost-share for Agricultural Land Easements. One drawback of this bill is the removal of Buy-Protect-Sell authority, which would hinder the ability of some of our partners to permanently protect habitat.
Encourage a focus on wildlife migration corridors.
This bill includes several sections relevant to western wildlife (including big game) migration corridor enhancement, including allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to “support the development, restoration, and maintenance of habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors” in all USDA conservation programs. It would also add language specifically including the “restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors” as a priority resource concern under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and add rangeland research, including virtual fencing, as a High Priority Research and Extension Area. These priorities reflect the intent of the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act that the TRCP and partners worked with Congressman Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Congressman Zinke (R-Mont.) to develop. As noted above, shifting the focus of Grassland CRP away from corridors would run counter to these goals, and the bill would not codify the USDA’s authority leverage benefits of different programs to support farmers, ranchers, and wildlife as proposed in the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act.
Chairwoman Stabenow’s Summary
On May 1, Chairwoman Stabenow released detailed a section-by-section summary of her own proposal. There is currently no scheduled markup in the Senate Ag Committee, and it is likely that many of these proposals will not go into bill text exactly as they are written now. Even so, there are many provisions in this summary that hunters and anglers will be glad to see. Key provisions to watch include:
Reallocates Inflation Reduction Act funding for conservation programs into the Farm Bill Conservation baseline and permanently authorizes those programs.
Chairwoman Stabenow was instrumental in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and making that investment permanent would be another major achievement. Permanently authorizing conservation programs puts us in a stronger position in the next Farm Bill and lessens the impact of any future Farm Bill expiration.
Provides substantive updates to the Conservation Reserve Program.
The proposal includes multiple positive changes to the CRP, including several components of the bipartisan CRP Improvement Act, which the TRCP and partners have supported for years. The Chairwoman is also proposing to raise the acreage cap by 2 million acres and increase rental rates, improve cost-share, and provide opportunities for longer term conservation in the CRP.
This initiative, recently expanded to Montana and Idaho, combines USDA conservation programs to ensure that working lands and public lands provide a seamless route for migrating big game like elk, mule deer, and pronghorn. Codifying these authorities ensures that this model can be applied long term and in new areas.
Improves and funds the Water Source Protection Program.
The Water Source Protection Program provides the U.S. Forest Service with resources to work with water users to increase the pace and scale of watershed restoration efforts, including the restoration of streams and wetlands, which in turn enhances resilience to drought and wildfire and benefits fish and wildlife that depend on healthy headwaters.
Furthers investment in nature-based solutions and better on-farm decision making.
Most of the provisions we’ve noted also serve as nature-based climate solutions, furthering agriculture’s role in sequestering and storing carbon while delivering wildlife habitat and food security. The proposal also enhances agricultural data protection and access to help farmers and researchers know how adopting conservation practices will impact their farm’s resilience and profitability. Additionally, it provides loan guarantees to help rural private forest landowners earn and sell carbon credits on working forests.
Reauthorizes the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program at $50 million over five years.
As discussed above, VPA-HIP reauthorization is a top TRCP priority, and we appreciate the challenge of finding funding for a program without baseline in a Farm Bill. However, given the importance of VPA-HIP to hunters and anglers and bipartisan support in both chambers for increased funding, we were disappointed to see this program held flat.
Ranking Member Boozman’s Framework
On June 12th, Senate Ag Ranking Member John Boozman (R-Ark) released his own Farm Bill framework, providing a clearer picture of Senate Republicans’ vision for the next five years of food and ag policy. Although we have less detail on this framework, it appears to line up well with Chairman Thompson’s bill. Based on this framework, Ranking Member Boozman’s bill would:
Reallocate Inflation Reduction Act funding for conservation programs into the Farm Bill Conservation baseline.
Astute readers will notice that this provision is included in all three proposals so far. This would be a huge win for hunters and anglers, and is estimated to raise the Conservation title baseline by approximately 25%. It is also urgent, with the amount of funding available decreasing with time. We remain hopeful that the next Farm Bill will bring a meaningful increase for conservation funding.
Provide permanent baseline and increase funding for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.
Without bill text, we can’t say for sure how much funding VPA-HIP would receive under Ranking Member Boozman’s proposal, but we are thrilled to see the program highlighted for reauthorization and increased funding, and look forward to the potential for permanent baseline.
Prioritize the stewardship of Wetland Reserve Easements.
Conservation easements provide the most durable benefits of any Farm Bill program, and there is a need for increased resources in this Farm Bill to ensure that these easements continue to provide quality wildlife habitat and other ecological benefits in perpetuity. Meeting this need would be a great outcome in this Farm Bill.
Supports several positive forest management programs and authorities.
Listed updates include bolstering the Water Source Protection Program and the Watershed Condition Framework, expanding Good Neighbor Authority to counties and Tribes, and enhancing prescribed fire training and activities. Individually these updates should all be positive, and taken together, they would provide serious benefits habitat for forest-dependent fish and wildlife. Ranking Member Boozman’s proposal would also provide mandatory funding for a new Forest Conservation Easement Program, another TRCP priority.
There is a long way to go before we see the impact of these proposals on the ground. The TRCP thanks House and Senate Ag Committee leadership for their work toward a bipartisan Farm Bill that supports habitat and access.
You can help. Conservation is, and should be, a shared priority regardless of party affiliation or ideology. Congress needs to hear that this is important to you. Take action here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For more than twenty years, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has been at the forefront of conservation, working diligently on behalf of America’s hunters and anglers to ensure America’s legacy of habitat management and access is protected and advanced. Your tax-deductible donation will help TRCP continue its mission, allowing you to keep enjoying your favorite outdoor pursuits. Whether those pursuits are on the water or in the field, TRCP has your back, but we can’t do it alone. We invite you to step into the arena with us and donate today!
