Sponsors (2)
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Donald Sternoff Beyer · Last progress May 13, 2025
The bill increases federal mapping, coordination, and targeted conservation program access—strengthening habitat connectivity and local participation—while imposing land-use limits, administrative costs, and potential regulatory uncertainty for landowners.
State and local governments, tribes, NGOs, and universities: increased reporting, data mapping, and cooperative agreements create more transparency and local participation in corridor and land-management decisions.
Farmers and agricultural producers: priority enrollment in conservation easement and forest reserve programs increases access to conservation funding and technical assistance.
Rural communities and tribal lands: designating and mapping wildlife corridors can improve habitat connectivity and ecosystem resilience, benefiting biodiversity and local ecosystem services.
Farmers and other landowners who enroll land: placing land in conservation easements or reserves can limit certain land uses and potentially reduce agricultural revenue for some owners.
State and local governments, land managers, and landowners: corridor designation and mapping could conflict with existing land or resource-management plans, creating regulatory uncertainty and potential disputes.
Taxpayers: expanding mapping efforts and prioritizing programs will require additional federal resources and administrative costs paid from the federal budget.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires USDA, with USGS and USFWS, to identify, map, report on, and designate habitat connectivity areas as American wildlife corridors and enables voluntary enrollment into certain conservation easement programs.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, working with the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to identify, map, report on, and designate habitat connectivity areas as American wildlife corridors, with specific deadlines for interim rules, corridor designation, and reporting to Congress. Authorizes the Department to develop technical standards and assistance, prioritize enrollment and enter cooperative agreements, and—with a producer’s consent—modify or terminate existing conservation contracts to enroll land in certain easement and reserve programs. The bill also makes unspecified textual insertions to an existing Food Security Act provision; those insertions are not provided in the text and their effects are therefore unclear.