Farm Bill Update and Next Steps

Thanks for your help earlier this year in pressing Congress for a
wildlife-friendly Farm Bill. There were important gains and losses for
wildlife in the final bill, and in the end National Wildlife
Federation opposed the final bill as falling short for fish and wildlife.

However, passage of the 2008 Farm Bill was only the first step. It
lays out a blueprint for Farm Bill conservation programs for the next
five years. Translating that blueprint into on-the-ground habitat for
fish and wildlife will depend on three keys: USDA's program rules,
Congressional appropriations, and state-level decisions by USDA.

As a member of NWF's Farming for Wildlife USA listserve, please read on for ways
you can be involved in promoting wildlife conservation and our sporting heritage
through Farm Bill conservation
programs.

USDA Program Rules

The US Department of Agriculture has begun issuing proposed rules to
implement the changes made in the new Farm Bill. We plan to summarize
the proposed rules quickly, and provide them to NWF affiliates and
interested friends. We also plan to file comments on the proposed
rules, and would welcome organizations who wish to co-sign those
comments. We will also encourage individuals and organizations to file
their own comments on the proposed rules with USDA.

If you are interested in the new USDA conservation program rules and
want to participate in the rule-making process, please sign up for
NWF's Farm Bill Rules email list.

State-Level Decisions

The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service State Technical
Committees provide advice to the State Conservationist on implementing
USDA conservation programs at the state level. They help set
priorities and approve practices to be funded at the state and local
level. These committees include people from state and federal
agencies, commodity organizations and non-profit organizations with an
interest in agriculture, wildlife, or conservation programs in general.

If you want to help set state-level priorities for USDA conservation
programs or are interested in USDA State Technical Committees, please
sign up for NWF's Farm Bill State Technical Committee email list.

Appropriations

Congress tells USDA how much it can spend on conservation through an
annual appropriations bill. Sometimes, appropriators have cut money
from conservation programs that are supposed to receive `automatic'
funding. Congress passed a bill in October that provides partial-year
funding for fiscal year 2009, and the appropriations committees are
now discussing bills that would fund USDA programs through the rest of
2009. NWF will be working to help NWF affiliates and interested
friends understand and participate in Farm Bill appropriations work.

If you are interested in appropriations issues that impact Farm Bill
conservation and energy programs, please sign up for NWF's Agriculture
Appropriations email list.

Changes at NWF

We plan to upgrade NWF's Farm Bill web site (www.NWF.org/Farmland) to
provide information as the 2008 Farm Bill is implemented. We will also
be adding information on agriculture and climate change.

We will close out our Yahoo Farming for Wildlife listserve and web
site, which have served their purpose of educating people during the
Farm Bill debate.

We plan to create the three email lists noted above, plus a general
Farm Bill and Wildlife email list to share general information about
Farm Bill conservation and energy programs, including major
announcements, legislation, and other developments.

We plan to send you general information and major announcements
related to Farm Bill conservation programs via NWF's Farm Bill and
Wildlife email list, unless you tell us different.

As the debate over the 2008 Farm Bill made clear, we have much work to
do to maintain the federal commitment to conservation programs that
help farmers and ranchers put in place wildlife-friendly practices. We
hope you will join us in our work to make sure the program rules,
Congressional appropriations, and state-level decisions make the best
use of current and new USDA conservation programs to promote fish and
wildlife habitat in America.

When you get an email inviting you to sign up for one or more of the
email discussion lists noted above, please respond. We would also
appreciate your other ideas for making sure we leverage Farm Bill
conservation programs to do the best job possible for America's fish
and wildlife.

Thanks for all your good work!

Duane Hovorka