Farm Bill a winner for anglers

One bright spot in 2018 came late in the year as the Farm Bill delivered an early gift to hunters and anglers. 

Signed into law last week, the bill earned the distinction of becoming the largest funder of fish and wildlife conservation project.

The Farm Bill’s authorization expired on September 30 and Congress worked hard since then to finalize and pass the bill. The new law is needed to energize on-the-ground conservation projects conducted by farmers, ranchers, and conservationists nationwide. 

Here's a few of the highlights for sportsmen and women:

• Improves the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which will allow partners and producers to expand the reach and effectiveness of landscape scale conservation projects, by cutting red tape and increasing flexibility to attract new partners and encourage innovation in restoration and conservation of trout habitat.  

• Makes the workhorse Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQIP) more effective at remedying western drought by enabling western irrigation districts and canal companies to be eligible for EQIP investments in irrigation infrastructure to conserve water, improve reliability of delivery of irrigation water, and improve watershed health. 

• Provides mandatory funding for the Small Watersheds program, PL-566, at $50 million/year for ten years, and makes it another flexible tool in the Farm Bill toolbox for watershed improvement and western drought remediation. 

• Reauthorization and increased funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.  

• Bi-partisan measures that will help to restore sage grouse and mule deer habitat.  

• Provisions that will foster collaborative projects to protect and restore priority watersheds on national forests. 

• Ensuring that streamlined environmental reviews to combat insect and disease include sideboards that are science-based and provide for meaningful public involvement.    

• Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System in Tennesee.   

 “For more than 50 years, Trout Unlimited has been working with agricultural producers and foresters on the twin goals of improving agricultural operations while restoring streams, water quality, and improving fisheries on ranches, farms and forests,” said Laura Ziemer, senior counsel and water policy advisor.  “The new Farm Bills will enable TU to vastly increase the size and scope of our projects, yielding substantial gains for trout and salmon habitat and watershed health across the Nation."