Bill > HR3476

This bill establishes a new Forest Conservation Easement Program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help protect and restore forest lands across the United States. The program will provide financial assistance and technical support to private landowners, including beginning forest landowners, veterans, and socially disadvantaged landowners, to conserve and enhance forest ecosystems. Landowners can participate through two types of easements: forest land easements (which allow continued working forest production) and forest reserve easements (focused on habitat restoration and species conservation). The program aims to protect biodiversity, reduce forest fragmentation, improve habitat for endangered and at-risk species, enhance carbon sequestration, and maintain watershed quality. The bill provides federal cost-sharing for easement acquisition, with payments ranging from 50% to 75% of the land's fair market value, and allocates $100 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to support the program. As part of the bill's implementation, it also repeals the existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program and transitions any existing contracts and agreements into the new program, ensuring continuity of forest conservation efforts.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3476/all-info