Sponsors (18)
The bill creates predictable federal funding and payments to encourage forest conservation—benefiting participating landowners, rural communities, and environmental goals—while relying on CCC funds and program consolidations that raise taxpayer cost, risk crowding out other farm supports, and create eligibility and uncertainty concerns for some landowners.
Landowners and farmers can receive direct payments to place forests under conservation easements, providing a predictable income stream funded at up to $100M/year (2026–2030) for conservation participation.
Forested lands enrolled in easements will be protected, helping preserve timber resources, wildlife habitat, and water quality that benefit nearby rural communities and local governments.
The bill preserves continuity for existing conservation programs, keeps current Healthy Forests Reserve Program contracts and payments intact, and consolidates/clarifies authorities to simplify administration and planning for agencies and state/local partners.
Taxpayers fund an estimated $500 million over five years via Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) authorities, which increases federal spending for this purpose and could contribute to deficit pressures.
Using CCC authorities and shifting obligations may redirect funds away from other farm support and easement priorities, potentially reducing payments or services for some commodity programs and other Farm Bill programs that serve farmers.
Eligibility and implementation changes, and the repeal of the specific Title V HFRA Reserve Program, could leave some forest owners ineligible or reduce future enrollment opportunities, concentrating benefits among certain landowners while excluding others.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Forest Conservation Easement Program with $100M/year (FY2026–2030) via CCC, renumbers conservation subtitles, and repeals the prior Healthy Forests Reserve Program statute while preserving existing contracts.
Introduced May 17, 2025 by Trent Kelly · Last progress May 17, 2025
Creates a new federal Forest Conservation Easement Program and provides a dedicated funding stream of $100 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 using Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) authorities. It also reorganizes and renumbers existing conservation subtitles in the Food Security Act, repeals the separate Healthy Forests Reserve Program statute while preserving existing contracts and payments, and expresses a non‑binding sense that the costs should be offset.