Update Forest conservation easement program (Fcep)

In August 2023 KWOA went on record in support of the Forest Conservation Easement Program (FCEP) Act of 2023 (S. 2631); see the post from 2023 here. The Conservation Fund www.conservationfund.org/fcep  is coordinating efforts on the national level and provides these updates:
​May 1, 2024: the House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairs each released their Farm Bill frameworks: 
Great news – the House majority’s Farm Bill overview, released by Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA), INCLUDES FCEP! It doesn’t explicitly say whether FCEP will receive mandatory funding in the bill, but we’ve heard that will likley be the case. We expect to see the House majority’s full Farm Bill text within the next couple of weeks, at which time we’ll see the specifics related to the FCEP section. Chairman Thompson has said he’ll mark-up the bill in the House Agriculture Committee on May 23. Next week, I’ll circulate a draft coalition press release that we plan to issue when the House Farm Bill text is released, so that any groups who are interested can provide quotes for the quote sheet.
 
Unfortunately, the Senate majority’s Farm Bill framework, released by Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI), DOES NOT include FCEP. We’re expecting Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Boozman (R-AR), to release the minority’s Farm Bill framework after the House bill text is released. Senator Boozman and his staff have been supportive of FCEP, so we’re hoping that FCEP will be included in the Ranking Member’s framework. Ultimately, we’re still pushing to ensure FCEP is included, with some mandatory funding, in the Senate’s bipartisan Farm Bill.

To demonstrate broader Senate support for FCEP to help ensure it is ultimately included in the bipartisan Senate Farm Bill. PLEASE REACH OUT TO REPUBLICAN SENATORS IN YOUR STATES TO ASK THEM TO COSPONSOR FCEP! Even if you’ve reaching out previously, please reach out again.  If we can get two republican senators added as cosponsors, we’ll be able to add the two democratic Senators that have been waiting for months to cosponsor the bill (Sens. Shaheen (D-NH) and King (I-ME)), since cosponsors are being added in bipartisan pairs. That addition of bipartisan cosponsors will send a strong signal to Senate Agriculture Committee leadership that FCEP should be included in the Senate bill.

KWOA respnded to this update by sending the attached letter to KY Senators McConnell and Paul.

cosponsor_fcepforest_conservation_easement_program_act_of_2023__s._2631_.pdf
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