Defenders Of Wildlife
Congress updates the Farm Bill about every five years, and 2023 is one of those years! So, we have an opportunity right now to make sure that Congress provides farmers, ranchers, and private foresters with the support they need to conserve wildlife. Join Mary Pfaffko, Defenders’ Senior Policy Analyst for Private Lands, in urging your members of Congress to include strong biodiversity provisions in the next Farm Bill.
Transcript:
Wildlife needs the Farm Bill. Approximately 70% of federally endangered and threatened species spend at least part of their lifecycle on private lands and the farm bill helps to conserve this habitat. Congress updates the Farm Bill about every five years, and 2023 is one of those years. So we have an opportunity right now to make sure that Congress provides farmers, ranchers and private foresters with the support they need to conserve wildlife. Earlier this year, Defenders of Wildlife provided policy recommendations to Congress, urging them to address four critical areas in the next Farm Bill. Biodiversity loss, wildlife-livestock conflict prevention, equity and accountability. These recommendations aim to ensure that the conservation programs address the interconnected threats of biodiversity loss and climate change, compensate livestock losses caused by endangered or threatened species, and expand eligibility, access and funding for historically underserved producers, including socially disadvantaged and tribal producers. The current Farm Bill expires on September 30th and Congress is working to pass the next Farm Bill over the next several months. So now is the time to ask your members of Congress to include strong provisions for biodiversity conservation in the next Farm Bill.
