The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 1 that it was accepting applications for a new easement program created by the 2014 Farm Bill along with the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Improvement Program (VPA-HIP) that was already established. According to the Wildlife Management Institute, the USDA will make up to $386 million available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to fund these programs.

"By protecting working lands and wetlands, we're able to strengthen agricultural operations, sustain the nation's food supply and protect habitat for a variety of wildlife," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during the announcement. "In addition, we're providing states and tribal governments a tool to expand access to private lands for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational activities, which helps boost wildlife-related businesses and grows the economy."

Congress directed USDA to consolidate 23 conservation programs in the 2008 Farm Bill down to 13 in the 2014 Farm Bill that was enacted in February. The new Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (ACEP) combines agricultural land easements to protect agricultural use and conservation values of cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland and nonindustrial private forests, as well as easements and restoration of wetlands under the wetlands reserve component. Up to $366 million will be made available to fund ACEP in fiscal year 2014. Applications are due by June 6 for FY14 funding and can be obtained through local NRCS Service Centers or online; agreements will be finalized beginning in late August.

In addition, USDA announced that it would make $20 million available to fund VPA-HIP in 2014. Applications are due by June 16 and should be completed through Grants.gov. The new Farm Bill moved responsibility for administering VPA-HIP within USDA from the Farm Service Agency to NRCS. VPA-HIP provides financial incentives to landowners that allow public recreation on their private lands and is strongly supported by sportsmen's groups.

"Access programs like VPA-HIP enable the recruitment of new sportsmen and the retention of existing sportsmen," said Dave Nomsen, vice president of government affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. "This is good news for conservation. Access programs keep hunting and angling available to everyone."

More information about these programs can be found on the NRCS web site. (pmr)