2007 Farm Bill and Private Lands Wildlife Management
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently developing the 2007 Farm Bill. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, which authorizes the programs operated by the USDA, expires at the end of FY 2007. USDA conducted pubic forums across the United States, including in Alaska, to obtain input on the bill. Recommendations from the public forum in Alaska included the recommendation that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provide Alaska Native private landowners outreach, technical assistance and equitable access to its programs as required by Congress. Many rural communities throughout the country, and more so in Alaska, depend heavily on subsistence resources for their economic and cultural survival. Competition for wildlife resources from urban users and recreational tourists is growing faster than the restorative capacity of Alaska’s public and private lands. We support changes to the Farm Bill clarifying the conservation program’s applicability to all privately held lands in Alaska important for conservation and subsistence, as Alaska’s lands have fallen far behind the rest of the Nation in providing productive wildlife habitat for grazing harvest animals such as moose, elk, deer, goats, caribou, musk ox, buffalo and sheep. Alaska ranks last among all states in USDA average funding per-acre and, not surprisingly, Alaska’s production of grazing wildlife animals per acre, especially by Alaska Native landowners, has fallen far behind as well. The creation of Tribal Conservation Districts in Alaska holds great promise for providing equitable access and meeting the goals of subsistence, recreational, energy and economic self reliance in Alaska. The 2007 Farm Bill must include an equitable funding formula that insures that Alaska’s private landowners, and in particular Alaska Native landowners, receive an equitable share of USDA program funds and that the 44 million acres of ANCSA lands are considered eligible for USDA programs.
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