HR2235-119

What This Bill Does

The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act adds wildlife movement and virtual fencing to farm conservation law. It defines habitat connectivity as the degree to which landscape or habitat elements let native species move among seasonal habitats and defines big game species to include deer, elk, pronghorn, wild sheep, and moose. USDA conservation programs may support restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat connectivity and migration corridors, especially for big game. EQIP and CSP may pay planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training costs for ecologically significant land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, while preventing duplicate payment for the same practice under another federal program. The bill preserves emergency grazing and haying access, raises a CRP payment limit from $50,000 to $125,000, directs USDA to incorporate nonstructural livestock-distribution methods such as virtual fencing into conservation practice standards, requires technical assistance, encourages corridor and hydrologic connectivity, and makes research and extension grants available for virtual fencing adoption barriers and effects on riparian areas, winter range, and stopover habitat.

Who Benefits and How

Farmers and ranchers with CRP grasslands benefit from new cost-share authority for habitat connectivity practices and a higher CRP payment limit. Big game migration corridors benefit because USDA programs can prioritize wildlife habitat connectivity and movement between seasonal habitats. Virtual fencing technology developers benefit from research, extension, conservation standards, and technical assistance language. Conservation researchers benefit from grants to study virtual fencing barriers and effects on riparian areas, winter range, and stopover habitats.

Who Bears the Burden and How

USDA conservation staff must update conservation practice standards, technical assistance, and payment rules for habitat connectivity and virtual fencing. Producers receiving duplicate federal payments for the same practice on the same land are excluded from the new cost-share payments. NRCS field staff must evaluate ecological significance, corridor practices, and nonstructural livestock distribution methods. Federal taxpayers fund expanded conservation payments, research grants, and technical assistance.

Key Provisions

• Adds habitat connectivity and big game species definitions to the Food Security Act.
• Expands conservation program purposes to include wildlife habitat connectivity and migration corridors.
• Authorizes EQIP and CSP cost-share payments for ecologically significant CRP grasslands while barring duplicate payments.
• Raises a CRP payment limit from $50,000 to $125,000.
• Requires USDA to incorporate virtual fencing into practice standards and authorizes research on virtual fencing effects.