Press RoomPress ReleaseFor Immediate Release
November 3, 2005
For more information contact:
Terry Riley, (505) 286-8602 TRCP Working Group Applauds Administration’s Response to Farm Bill Conservation Program Cuts
Administration calls for more equitable reductions across all program areas WASHINGTON -- Members of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group (AWWG) applauded the Bush Administration’s response to dramatic Farm Bill conservation program cuts recently handed down by the Senate. One of the administration’s key stated concerns came in regards to the excessive cuts made to the largest, most effective Farm Bill conservation initiative, the Conservation Reserve Program, which has been responsible for improved management of more than 35 million acres of marginal and fragile land in its 20-year lifetime. In its official response to budget reconciliation legislation, S. 1932, the Administration said it “opposes the limitations on and disproportionate reductions to the Conservation Reserve Program, and proposes instead that the Senate include other provisions from the Administration's original proposal that would achieve savings, while promoting more efficient commodity production decisions.” Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever Vice-President of Government Affairs and a co-chair of the AWWG, said, “I’m very pleased to see the Administration once again make a strong stand for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).”He continued, “President Bush has vowed in the past to support the CRP, and the Administration is following through on that pledge by this statement of support.” Jennifer Mock, Farm Bill Coordinator for the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and a co-chair of the AWWG, said, “State Fish and Wildlife Agencies have worked tirelessly to plan and work with producers to incorporate Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program practices, buffer strips, quail habitat, and other wildlife-enhancing practices available under the CRP.”She added, “The Administration’s show of support for CRP gives us added strength in our fight to keep the CRP intact so we can continue enrolling critical acres through the duration of the 2002 Farm Bill.” *** The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of leading conservation organizations and individual grassroots partners, working together to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitat, increase funding for conservation and management, and expand access to places to hunt and fish. |