Pacific Flyway Habitat Enhancement Act Introduced in Congress

This week, U.S. Representatives Doug LaMalfa (R-Butte) and Mike Thompson (D-Lake) announced the introduction of the Pacific Flyway Habitat Enhancement Act, which would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to enroll additional agricultural lands in the Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). CREP is a voluntary land retirement program that helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and surface water.

The Pacific Flyway Habitat Enhancement Act would expand lands eligible for the program to include certain qualified wetlands for which there are habitat concerns or risks. The bill would also provide incentives to farmers to engage in seasonal field flooding to better manage their working croplands while supporting wetland-dependent species.

For more information, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sidd Nag.