The grantee represents the consensus interests of state fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that fish and wildlife habitat conservation needs are properly incorporated into united states department…

The grantee represents the consensus interests of state fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that fish and wildlife habitat conservation needs are properly incorporated into united states department of agriculture (USDA) farm bill conservation programs. In 2023, these USDA funds provided $1.77 billion for the conservation reserve program (CRP), protecting 1.8 million acres of land by taking marginal cropland out of production and 2.4 million acres into grassland conservation. In addition to this bread and butter program for most wildlife agencies, the nrcs spent nearly $5 billion dollars on conservation programs the same year. Additional investments in conservation through the inflation reduction act of 2023 also provided state agencies with an opportunity to leverage these funds for fish and wildlife.roughly 70% of the continental united states (CONUS) land base is privately owned, so farm bill conservation programs targeting these lands have broad-reaching effects on fish and wildlife conservation. State fish and wildlife agencies help the natural resources conservation service (nrcs) and farm service agency (FSA) deliver these programs by providing technical assistance, participating in state technical committees and local working groups, and working within USDA offices to ease administrative workloads. The current farm bill passed in december 2018 and is set to expire on september 30, 2024. While the goal is to have the farm billreauthorized by this date, the reality is that passage will likely occur late in 2024, or in 2025. The new farm bill will bring opportunities for input and collaboration as the USDA finalizes rules and implements programmatic policies and procedures.state agencies must proactively work with US department of agriculture (USDA) to properly incorporate the needs of fish, wildlife, and their habitats into rules, policies, strategic frameworks, and conservation practices. State agencies effectiveness in this regard relies in part on their ability to share information among themselves and to address USDA with a unified voice. The grant will support collaboration and coordination of state fish and wildlife agencies across all regions to provide input during the rule-making process of these USDA programs and feedback on how program implementation and rollout of the continued farm bill is functioning in each state, including recommendations for further actions. The grant will also facilitate coordination and collaboration with conservation partners who share afwas agriculture conservation goals. The grantee will facilitate working groups under the broader agriculture conservation committee (ACC) that represent each farm bill program impacting wildlife to ensure state members are aware of updated policies and have an opportunity to voice professional opinions, ensuring that these federal dollars are used as effectively as possible. Those working groups include the conservation reserve program, environmental quality incentives program (eqip) conservation stewardship program (CSP), farm bill easements, forestry, public access, regional conservation partnership program (rcpp), and private lands working groups.