National Association of Conservation Districts

Letters

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare the fiscal year 2008 Department of Agriculture budget, we write to strongly support funding of conservation programs at no less than current full authorized levels. The diverse group of organizations signing this letter believes cooperative conservation efforts are vital to ensuring the sustainability and profitability of American producers and protecting and restoring the environment so important to all Americans. 

The conservation provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill are clearly improving the environment as the most robust conservation title ever enacted. Future generations will benefit from the significant improvements already realized as result of that legislation - through reduced soil erosion and improved soil quality, restoration of wetlands, improvements in water and air quality, increased conservation of limited water supplies, and protection of important wildlife habitat and improved forest health. More could have been achieved, however, had Congress and the Administration fully funded conservation programs at the levels negotiated and agreed to in the 2002 Farm Bill.

Demand for financial and technical assistance through voluntary conservation incentive programs continues to exceed available funding. At the end of fiscal year 2005, conservation program application backlogs from farmers and ranchers who want to do more to protect the environment totaled more than $2.5 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), the Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program (FRPP), and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). In addition, farmers and ranchers in 88 percent of the nation’s watersheds have not yet had even their first chance to enroll in the Conservation Security Program. To respond to this unprecedented commitment from private landowners all across this nation, increased funding in the 2007 Farm Bill will be crucial. In the meantime, anything less than full funding at current authorized levels in the FY 2008 budget request will send the wrong signal and only serve to delay the assistance that farmers, ranchers, and forest owners need to apply conservation measures on the land. It is essential that the budget also include sufficient funding for conservation operations, including conservation technical assistance, to provide planning and implementation expertise to landowners, including those that may not be seeking financial assistance.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. We look forward to working with you to maintain the viability and success of these programs of critical importance to our farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and rural, suburban, and urban citizens, as the fiscal year 2008 budget is developed.

Sincerely,

American Bird Conservancy
American Farmland Trust
American Forest Foundation
American Forests
American Tree Farm Association
American Rivers
Chesapeake Bay Commission
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Environmental Defense
Izaak Walton League
Minnesota Project
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
National Audubon Society
National Association of Conservation Districts
National Association of State Conservation Agencies
National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges
National Association of State Foresters
National Wildlife Federation
National Woodland Owners Association
Soil and Water Conservation Society
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
The Nature Conservancy
The Trust for Public Land
Union of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
The Honorable Robert Portman- Director of the Office of Management and Budget
The Honorable Mike Johanns- Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture
The Honorable Robert Goodlatte- Chairman, Committee on Agriculture
The Honorable Collin Peterson- Ranking Member, Committee on Agriculture
The Honorable Saxby Chambliss- Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
The Honorable Tom Harkin- Ranking Member, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
The Honorable Robert Bennett- Chairman, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies on the Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Herbert Kohl- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies on the Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Henry Bonilla- Chairman, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies on the Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies on the Committee on Appropriations



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