To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the forest conservation easement program, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
This bill creates a new Forest Conservation Easement Program within the USDA to protect private and Tribal forest lands through conservation easements. The program offers two types of easements: forest land easements (purchased through eligible conservation entities at 50-75% federal cost-share) and forest reserve easements (enrolled directly with USDA for endangered species habitat). The federal government would provide $100 million per year from the Commodity Credit Corporation for fiscal years 2026-2030. The bill sets aside at least 10% of funding for beginning, socially disadvantaged, veteran, and limited resource forest landowners. It replaces the existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program, while honoring existing contracts under that program.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes a new Forest Conservation Easement Program under the Food Security Act of 1985, providing federal funding for purchasing forest land easements and forest reserve easements to protect forest ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and threatened species habitat, while replacing the existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program.
Who Benefits
- Private forest landowners (receive easement payments)
- Conservation organizations (eligible entities for easement purchases)
- Indian Tribes (special enrollment provisions)
Who Bears Costs
- Federal government via Commodity Credit Corporation ($500M over 5 years)
- Existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program stakeholders (program repealed)
Key Policy Areas
Environment, Agriculture, Public Lands
Primary Purpose
Establishes a new Forest Conservation Easement Program under the Food Security Act of 1985, providing federal funding for purchasing forest land easements and forest reserve easements to protect forest ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and threatened species habitat, while replacing the existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Consolidate the Healthy Forests Reserve Program into a new, broader Forest Conservation Easement Program with dedicated CCC funding of $100M/year for FY2026-2030, with set-asides for beginning, socially disadvantaged, veteran, and limited resource forest landowners."
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Kelly of Mississippi (for himself, Ms. Goodlander, Mr. Moore …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Beginning forest landowners, Beginning/socially disadvantaged/veteran forest landowners, Existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program participants
Conservation nonprofits (501(c)(3)), Conservation organizations, Eligible entities (third-party enforcement)
Commodity Credit Corporation, Forest Conservation Easement Program, Indian Tribes
Positive-direction: Forest Conservation Easement Program, Indian Tribes
Negative-direction: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A person who has not previously owned forest land or has owned forest land for not more than 10 years.
An agency of State or local government, Indian Tribe, or conservation organization under IRC 170(h)(4)(A) and 501(c)(3).
Private or Tribal land that is forest land or being restored to forest land, subject to a pending easement offer or enrollment criteria for reserve easements.
A forest landowner who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group, defined as one subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice per section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology