Public Land Trust Applauds Farm Bill, Softly

WASHINGTON, DC-Real estate conservation organization The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has come out in support of the US Senate’s recent passing of a six-year farm bill, HR 2646, which includes provisions for additional funds to be spent on open space conservation programs. Now on the president’s desk, the farm bill sets aside $600 million–compared to $53 million–for the purchase of development rights on agricultural lands under the Farm Protection Program. It also calls for a program to protect grasslands, and an increase to 1.35 billion acres in the Wetlands Preserve Program.

TP, however, is not completely satisfied with certain aspects of the legislation. “This bill provides some significant benefits for conservation by giving new tools and spending to protect rural and suburban lands and farms from development,” organization vice president Alan Front explains. “At the same time, we are disappointed that the final version of the bill spends considerably less for conservation programs to help all farmers than was originally proposed by the Senate.” Most notably, the bill originally stipulated $1.75 billion for the Farm Protection Program, as opposed to the $600 million on which senators settled.