•     For Immediate Release - July 19, 2001

Media Release

CONSERVATION GROUPS LAUNCH AD CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE KEY CONSERVATION FUNDING

"With a little help from conservation programs, America’s farmers help to protect our environment," according to the commercial. "But now President Bush is proposing the government spend... Nothing for the Wetlands Reserve Program... Nothing for Wildlife Habitat Incentives... Nothing for Farmland Protection.  Will Congress turn that around?"

The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) and the Farmland Protection Program (FPP) have proven extremely popular with stewardship-minded farmers, offering them a means to improve conservation performance on their farms with projects of their own design.  These  programs have faced chronic under-funding, which culminated in zero-funding in the president’s budget and the House appropriation for 2002, despite a backlog of thousands of farmer proposals for each of the programs, representing more than a million acres and habitat for a host of wildlife species.

"Illinois farmers are the state’s most important natural resource managers," said Marc Miller, Watershed Organizer for Prairie Rivers Network.  "Adequate funding for these conservation programs will give Illinois’ family farmers the tools they need to make the state’s farmland an asset for all Illinoisians, water quality, habitat and wildlife."

"It is incredibly short-sighted for the administration and the House appropriators to ignore the thousands of farmers waiting at the gates to make
room for wildlife on their land," stated Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.  "The White House’s rhetoric is very big on
locally-led, voluntary conservation programs, but that sure didn’t show up in their budget for these model initiatives."

The Senate has the opportunity to restore funding for WRP, WHIP, and FPP through either the regular FY2002 Agriculture Appropriations legislation, or through an emergency FY2001 supplemental currently before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

"There is overwhelming public support for agricultural conservation programs and practices," said Miller, noting recent polling by American Farmland Trust (www.farmland.org).  "Our nation’s leaders should listen to the wide range of citizens ? from environmentalists, outdoorsmen, and family farmers ? that want agricultural programs that restore and maintain water quality, as well as conserve habitat and wildlife through these voluntary incentive programs."
Prairie Rivers Network highlighted the enormous backlog of America’s farmers who are waiting to participate in these conservation programs.  While the WRP program has successfully restored over 47,000 acres of wetlands in Illinois, the state currently has a backlog of 148 farmers requesting funding for a total of $18.5 million.  Other conservation programs do not fare much better.

"We need to tell the President and Congress that we can do better," stated Miller.  "We can do better for our farmers, our environment, and our water quality."