Let your voice be heard!
Contact USDA Secretary Ed Schafer
In an attempt to make it easier for you to get straight to the point, here is a website that you can use to send a message directly to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer: CONTACT USDA SECRETARY ED SCHAFER
CRP Report: Special Edition
Check out this Analysis Of The Economic Impacts On The Agricultural Sector Of The Elimination Of The Conservation Reserve Program
Recent Legislation News
Pheasants Forever Supports Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy AmendmentJul-21-2008 - Pheasants Forever (PF) strongly endorses voting YES for The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment on the November 4th ballot. The Saint Paul-based national non-profit conservation organization has also recorded public service announcements (PSAs) in support of voting YES for the Amendment critical to ensuring Minnesota's outdoor future. ...more
Pheasants Forever Opposes Early Outs to CRPJul-01-2008 - On July 1st, Pheasants Forever joined 12 other national conservation groups on a letter to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer. The letter opposed any "Early Outs" to Conservation Reserve Program contracts. Please join us by lending your voice today! [link=http://trcp.ga0.org/campaign/crp_earlyouts/dnkbskrzimx5j3?]Take Action[/link] Any form of Early Outs to CRP would have a dramatically negative impact on pheasants, other species of wildlife, water quality, and many rural economies. ...more
Important Days for CRP AheadMay-30-2008 - Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) have a mix of reactions as a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement to open more than 24 million acres of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands to haying and grazing later this summer. While the move holds some habitat benefits, it does create problems for hunters this fall and sends the wrong message about the value of CRP to America. Also looming is the recurring discussion about “early-outs” from CRP contracts. ...more
House, Senate Override Farm Bill VetoMay-23-2008 - [b]UPDATE: On Wednesday, May 21st the U.S. House of Representatives overrode President Bush's veto of the 2008 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) by a vote of 316-108. The U.S. Senate joined the override Thursday, May 22nd with an 82-13 vote, officially enacting the 2008 Farm Bill into law. More details on this development are forthcoming. On Wednesday, May 14th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the conference report on the 2008 Farm Bill, H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 by a vote of 318-106. On Thursday, May 15th, the U.S. Senate approved the conference report for the 2008 Farm Bill, HR. 2419, by a vote of 81-15. Perhaps as early as next week, the bill will be sent to the desk of President George W. Bush for consideration and approval or veto.[/b] After nearly four months of extensions, House and Senate Farm Bill conferees have reached an agreement on the main elements of the 2008 Farm Bill. Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) urge both the House and the Senate to pass the legislation, and for President George W. Bush to sign the bill into law as quickly as possible. If passed, the bill would provide an additional $7.9 billion in new funding for conservation programs; welcome news for wildlife conservation and hunters. "The Farm Bill is the single biggest opportunity for conservation. Any further delay to a new bill would have jeopardized three decades worth of progress toward cleaning our water, protecting our soils and creating habitat for wildlife," said Dave Nomsen, PF/QF's Vice President of Government Affairs who has played a critical role in shaping the Farm Bill's conservation title. ...more
Indiana makes history with new apprentice hunting licenseMay-15-2008 - This past legislative session lawmakers created Indiana’s first apprentice hunting license. The new license allows first time hunters to try sporting under the supervision of an adult without having to first complete hunter’s safety education. If the hunter wishes to pursue sport hunting then the hunter must complete hunter’s safety education class. The idea of course is to get the new hunter involved, and recruit new members into the ranks of sport hunting. Pheasant Forever had a lead role in the new license with Jack Corpuz, Legislative Chair of the Pheasants Forever Indiana State Council, being the one to first introduce the idea to the legislative 2007 Summer Study Committee. ...more
