[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 161 (Friday, November 7, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14271-S14274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Dayton, 
        Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Harkin, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Nelson of Nebraska):
  S. 1840. A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage 
owners and operations of privately-held farm and ranch land to 
voluntarily make their land available for access by the public under 
programs administered by States; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I am joined by Senators Roberts, 
Daschle, Dayton, Dorgan, Johnson, Baucus, Enzi, Kerry, Harkin, Coleman, 
Reid, and Nelson of Nebraska in introducing the ``Voluntary Public 
Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 2003''.
  Newspaper headlines across North Dakota over the past year confirm 
that one issue has emerged as among the most controversial that we have 
seen in the State in some time. That issue has to do with who can hunt 
in North Dakota, and under what conditions.
  As one State senator said during the 2003 session of the North Dakota 
legislature: ``In all my years in the legislature, I haven't gotten so 
many calls as [on] this one.''
  Some have called for stricter limits on the number of out-of-state 
sportsmen in order to provide greater hunting opportunities for North 
Dakota citizens. On the other side, many of the rural businesses in 
North Dakota whose livelihoods have come to depend increasingly on the 
dollars spent by non-resident hunters have urged a less restrictive 
policy.
  An article earlier this year in a North Dakota paper began with the 
declaration that, ``No bill has stirred more passion in people than 
Senate Bill 2048, which deals with capping the number of out-of-state 
hunters.'' One State legislator termed the debate over the bill, 
``civil war between residents of North Dakota fighting over hunting 
ground.''
  At its core, the hunting debate is about demand exceeding supply. 
Quite simply, the public desire for hunting and other outdoor 
recreation opportunities increasingly exceeds the amount of land 
available for such activities. And the problem is growing worse each 
year. Other States face a similar challenge, and they too are in a 
quandary as they seek to address it.
  In response to this growing problem, I have been working with a 
number of my colleagues--as well as farm, conservation, and sportsmen's 
groups--to develop a positive, straightforward, voluntary and 
incentive-based approach to addressing the ``supply side'' of this 
issue. And I am pleased to be introducing that initiative today.
  Our proposal is a voluntary landowner incentive program. Its formal 
title is the ``Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program of 
2003''. As the title indicates, it is strictly voluntary in nature.
  It would work like this: Under the program--which I to refer to as 
the

[[Page S14272]]

``Open Fields'' proposal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture would 
provide $50 million per year to State programs that offer incentive 
payments to farmers and ranchers who agree to allow public access on 
their land, under terms established by each state.
  The ``Open Fields'' program would be funded in the same way that 
Federal farm and conservation programs are currently financed--through 
USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation. To receive funding under the 
program, interested states would describe the benefits that the state 
hopes to achieve by encouraging public access on private farm and ranch 
land--through such activities as hunting, fishing, birding, and related 
outdoor activities--and the methods that the State will use to achieve 
those benefits.
  In determining the distribution of funds under the program, USDA 
would give priority to those States that propose--1. to maximize 
participation by offering a program whose terms are likely to meet with 
widespread acceptance among landowners in the state; 2. to ensure that 
land enrolled under the state program has appropriate wildlife habitat; 
3. to increase public access on land enrolled in habitat improvement 
projects under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program; and 4. to 
use other Federal, state or private resources, in a collaborative way, 
to carry out the program.

  But participation by the States and individual land owners in each 
State would, as I have indicated, be completely voluntary.
  In designing the ``Open Fields'' program, our aim has been to build 
on what works--to grease the wheel, rather than re-invent it. For 
example, about 13 States already have programs designed to increase the 
amount of private land available to the public, but these programs are 
generally modest in scope and suffer from limited funding. Our 
legislation is designed to give these struggling State programs a 
needed shot in the arm and to encourage other States.
  In North Dakota, for example, we have the Private Land Initiative, 
under which revenue generated from the sale of habitat stamps is used 
to provide cost-share assistance for wildlife habitat, and to support 
the Conservation PLOTS program--PLOTS stands for ``Private Land Open To 
Sportsmen.'' Under this program, owners agree to make their land 
accessible to the public in return for cost-share and incentive 
payments. Earlier this year, State officials made an additional $1.5 
million available to increase public access on private land, in an 
effort to help diffuse tensions in the debate over resident versus non-
resident hunters.
  Other States have similar programs. Kansas, for example, has its 
``Walk-In Hunting'' program. Montana has a ``Block Management, Public 
Access/Private Land'' program. Nebraska sponsors a Conservation Reserve 
Program/Management Access Program, under which landowners with CRP 
ground receive a bonus payment if they take steps to improve habitat 
and allow public access on their CRP land. Colorado recently 
implemented its ``Walk-In Access'' program, under which interested 
hunters purchase a $20 stamp that gives them access to private land 
enrolled in the program and a directory of participating landowners.
  All of these are fine, innovative programs, but they lack the 
resources needed to meet the public's growing demand for places to hunt 
and engage in other forms of outdoor recreation.
  Make no mistake about it, wildlife-related recreation is a major 
force in defining our national character and in shaping our economy. 
For example, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2001, 
82 million Americans age 16 years and older participated in wildlife-
related recreation. During that year, over 34 million people fished, 13 
million hunted, and over 66 million participated in at least one type 
of wildlife-watching activity such as observing, feeding, or 
photographing wildlife in the United States.
  According to the Fish & Wildlife Service, those 82 million people who 
engaged in wildlife-related activities spent an estimated $108 billion, 
including over $35 billion on fishing and nearly $21 billion on 
hunting. That's big business by any definition, and it is a slice of 
the national economy that is increasingly important to our rural 
communities and small businesses. In 2001 alone, for example, $20 
billion was spent on food, lodging, and transportation by those who 
hunted and fished, while wildlife-watching participants, including 
birders, spent another $8.2 billion on those same items.
  In North Dakota, wildlife-related recreation generated nearly $1 
billion for the State's economy during the 2001-2002 season, according 
to the North Dakota Game and Fish Commission. The Commission estimates 
that direct spending by hunters and anglers laws $469 million during 
the season, generating nearly $545 million in additional economic 
activity. North Dakota ranks second in the Nation in terms of the 
percentage of the State's resident's who hunt, 19 percent, and fifth 
among States in the percentage of State residents who fish, 29 percent.

  To underscore the importance of non-resident hunters to my State, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that North Dakota ranks third among 
States in the percentage of hunters in the State who are non-residents. 
The estimated 52,000 non-resident hunters in our State make up an 
estimated 37 percent of all hunters. Only South Dakota, 65 percent, and 
Colorado, 43 percent, rank higher.
  In addition, there is ample evidence, from North Dakota State 
University and individual business owners, that the wildlife and 
hunting opportunities created by the Conservation Reserve Program have 
helped to cushion the economic impact first created when the CRP 
withdrew land from production and caused farmers to purchase fewer 
inputs and other services so important to our struggling rural 
communities. So it is critically important that we look for additional 
means to increase sporting opportunities for the public, and do so in a 
way that not only allows traditional farming operations to continue, 
but also increases a farm's income-earning potential. Our proposal 
would do just that.
  All in all, this program will be good for farm income, good for 
conservation, good for our struggling rural communities, and a positive 
force in strengthening the bond between producers and the general 
public.
  Finally, there are also broader policy reasons to move in this 
direction. For example, it is likely that future world trade agreements 
are increasingly going to limit the ability of the United States and 
other major agricultural producing countries to support our farmers in 
a way that is considered to be trade, or market, ``distorting.'' In 
other words, U.S. policymakers are likely to find it more and more 
difficult to provide government farm support in a way that is tied 
either to production or prices. Instead, we will have to find so-called 
``green box'' means of supporting farm income--payments that are not 
based on bushels produced or current commodity prices. That's clearly 
the direction that the European Union is taking, and we had better take 
notice. The program we are announcing today fits neatly in the current 
green box definition, and should be one of the many tools available to 
support farm income well into the future, even if new trade agreements 
constrain our farm policy options.
  I am pleased that our legislation has already received the support of 
a number of farm, sportsmen, and conservation organizations, including 
the North Dakota Farmers Union, the North Dakota Farm Bureau, the 
National Farmers Union, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation 
Partnership, the Wildlife Management Institute, the Izaak Walton League 
of America, the International Association of Fish and Wildlife 
Agencies, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National Rifle 
Association, the Mule Deer Foundation, Pheasants Forever, the American 
Sportfishing Association, Pure Fishing, Trout Unlimited, Bass Anglers 
Sportsmen Society, the Ruffed Grouse Society, the Wildlife Society, the 
Pope and Young Club, the Federal of Flyfishers, the International 
Hunter Education Association, the Boone and Crocket Club, the Sporting 
Goods Manufacturers Association, the National Shooting Sports 
Foundation, the North American Grouse Partnership, the Texas Wildlife 
Association, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices 
of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and 
Canada.

[[Page S14273]]

  In closing, let me quote from one of news articles that appeared in a 
North Dakota paper last year.
  Commenting on the controversy over the proposed change in the 
pheasant season opening date, the Bismark Tribune editorialized that, 
``On one extreme are landowners catering to out-of-state hunters, in 
part, because of weak and declining rural economies. For them, this is 
a matter of survival. On the other hand, many sportsmen feel that the 
growing numbers of acres dedicated to out-of-state hunters, willing to 
pay big bucks to hunt, are destroying the sport for the state's 
residents . . . The two sides are a long, long way apart.''
  My hope is that we can find ways to bring people together, and in the 
process strengthen our rural economy, encourage conservation, and 
preserve our hunting traditions for generations to come. And that's 
what this proposal is all about.
  I ask unanimous consent that additional material be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:
                                                 November 6, 2003.
     Hon. Kent Conrad,
     Hon. Pat Roberts.
       Dear Senators: We are writing to express our support for 
     the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program Act 
     of 2003, your legislation to establish state-administered, 
     voluntary, incentive-based programs to expand public access 
     to private lands.
       In an era when more and more hunters and anglers are faced 
     with ``no trespassing'' signs and more land is being 
     converted to commercial hunting and fishing operations, this 
     legislation is critically needed to expand access to places 
     to hunt and fish.
       This summer, Field and Stream magazine published the 
     results of its 2003 National Hunting Survey. Based on that 
     survey, Field an Stream concluded that a major reason for the 
     decline of hunting in America is the lack of available 
     habitat and access to that habitat. As representatives of 
     outdoor enthusiasts that would benefit from greater access to 
     private lands, we applaud your efforts to enact this new 
     voluntary, incentive-based program. We estimate that your 
     legislation, if fully funded, would encourage landowners to 
     open up more than 10 million new acres of private land to the 
     public each year, dramatically enhancing the experiences of 
     hunters and anglers as well as bird watchers, hikers, and 
     others who enjoy the outdoors.
       A number of states already have established programs to 
     work cooperatively with private landowners to pay for access 
     to their lands. Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, 
     Montana, and Nebraska all have very successful programs that 
     open millions of acres of lands to the public each year, and 
     several other states are initiating similar programs. These 
     programs are popular with hunters and anglers as well as 
     private landowners. In fact, due to a lack of financial 
     resources, many states are unable to take advantage of the 
     offers by private landowners to enroll in their access 
     programs. By supplementing state resources that currently are 
     being dedicated to this purpose, your legislation will 
     provide additional income to ranchers and farmers, while 
     expanding opportunities to hunters and anglers.
       We look forward to working with you to enact this 
     legislation as expeditiously as possible.
           Sincerely,
       Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
       Wildlife Management Institute.
       Izaak Walton League of America.
       International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
       Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation.
       National Rifle Association.
       Mule Deer Foundation.
       Pheasants Forever.
       American Sportfishing Association.
       Pure Fishing.
       Trout Unlimited.
       Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society.
       Ruffed Grouse Society.
       The Wildlife Society.
       Trout Unlimited.
       Pope & Young Club.
       Federation of Flyfishers.
       The International Hunter Education Association.
       Boone and Crockett Club.
       Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
       National Shooting Sports Foundation.
       North American Grouse Partnership.
       Texas Wildlife Association.
       United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the 
     Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and 
     Canada.
                                  ____



                                       National Farmers Union,

                                                 November 6, 2003.
     Hon. Kent Conrad,
     Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Conrad: On behalf of the 300,000 family 
     farmers and rancher members of the National Farmers Union 
     (NFU), I write in support of your legislation to establish a 
     voluntary incentive program to encourage farmers and ranchers 
     to provide public access for hunting on their property where 
     appropriate wildlife habitat is maintained.
       We believe the ``Voluntary Public Access and Habitat 
     Incentive Program Act of 2003'' can act both as an important 
     supplement to existing state programs as well as an 
     appropriate stimulus to create new opportunities in 
     additional states. In addition, this program can help 
     alleviate the potential conflict between landowners and the 
     rapidly growing demand by hunters for increased access to 
     rural lands by expanding the availability of private land 
     where hunting is allowed.
       Experience demonstrates that the rural impact of hunting on 
     private lands can be an important contributor to rural 
     economic development and provide a much needed boost to the 
     incomes of farmers and ranchers as well as rural businesses. 
     Your proposed legislation provides a unique opportunity to 
     enhance the potential of hunting activities in our Nation's 
     rural areas while ensuring that producer participation is 
     voluntary and that contract terms are designed to achieve a 
     high level of both local control and landowner acceptance.
       We look forward to working with you and your colleagues to 
     achieve passage and implementation of this incentive program.
           Sincerely,
                                            David J. Frederickson,
     President.
                                  ____


                                S. 1840

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Public Access and 
     Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) according to the United States Fish and Wildlife 
     Service, in 2001, 82,000,000 individuals in the United States 
     aged 16 years and older participated in wildlife-related 
     recreation, including 34,000,000 individuals who hunted, and 
     more than 66,000,000 who engaged in wildlife-related 
     recreation such as observing, feeding, or photographing 
     wildlife, in the United States;
       (2) individuals who participated in wildlife-related 
     activities in 2001 spent an estimated $108,000,000,000, 
     including--
       (A) more than $35,000,000,000 on fishing;
       (B) nearly $21,000,000,000 on hunting; and
       (C) more than $28,000,000,000 on food, lodging, and 
     transportation;
       (3) the growing public demand for outdoor recreational 
     opportunities is increasingly constrained by the limits on 
     both public and private land resources;
       (4) limited public access on private land has often 
     frustrated and disappointed hunters and other naturalists, 
     and undermined the relationship between land owners and the 
     general public;
       (5) several States have established successful but modest 
     walk-in programs to encourage public access on private farm 
     and ranch land, yet the demand for such voluntary access 
     programs remains largely unfulfilled;
       (6) traditional agricultural markets have in recent years 
     offered limited income opportunities for farm and ranch land 
     owners and operators; and
       (7) current proposals to reform world agricultural trade 
     favor the development of new methods to support the income of 
     agricultural producers that have minimal impact on 
     agricultural production and prices.

     SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCENTIVE 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of 
     the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 1240Q. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCENTIVE 
                   PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a 
     voluntary public access program under which States may apply 
     for grants to encourage owners and operators of privately-
     held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make that land 
     available for access by the public under programs 
     administered by the States.
       ``(b) Applications.--In submitting applications for a grant 
     under the program, a State shall describe--
       ``(1) the benefits that the State intends to achieve by 
     encouraging public access on private farm and ranch land, 
     through such activities as hunting, fishing, bird watching, 
     and related outdoor activities; and
       ``(2) the methods that will be used to achieve those 
     benefits.
       ``(c) Priority.--In approving applications and awarding 
     grants under the program, the Secretary shall give priority 
     to States that propose--
       ``(1) to maximize participation by offering a program the 
     terms of which are likely to meet with widespread acceptance 
     among landowners;
       ``(2) to ensure that land enrolled under the State program 
     has appropriate wildlife habitat;
       ``(3) to strengthen wildlife habitat improvement efforts on 
     land enrolled in a special conservation reserve enhancement 
     program described in 1234(f)(4) by providing incentives to 
     increase public access on that land; and
       ``(4) to use additional Federal, State, or private 
     resources in carrying out the program.

[[Page S14274]]

       ``(d) Relationship to Other Laws.--Nothing in this section 
     preempts a State law (including any State liability law).
       ``(e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate such 
     regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
       (b) Funding.--Section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 
     1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(8) The voluntary public access program under section 
     1240Q, using, to the maximum extent practicable, $50,000,000 
     in each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007.''.

     SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF EXCESS BASE ACRES.

       Section 1101(g)(2) of the Farm Security and Rural 
     Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7911(g)(2)) is amended by 
     striking subparagraph (C).
                                  ____


    Section-By-Section Summary--Voluntary Public Access and Habitat 
                       Incentive Program of 2003

       Sec. 1. Title: ``Voluntary Public Access and Habitat 
     Incentive Program of 2003''.
       Sec. 2. Findings: Describes--
       (1) the importance of wildlife-related recreation of the 
     U.S. economy;
       (2) the growing demand for outdoor recreation activities 
     such as hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching;
       (3) the increasingly limited opportunities for the public 
     to access private land;
       (4) the modest hunter access programs begun in some states; 
     and
       (5) the need to identify WTO-compliant means of supporting 
     farm income in the future.
       Sec. 3. Establishes the ``Voluntary Public Access and 
     Habitat Incentive Program of 2003'' and provides $50 million 
     in Commodity Credit Corporation funds annually (2003-07) to 
     States for the purpose of encouraging owners and operators of 
     privately-held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make their 
     land available for access by the public under programs 
     administered by the States. Priority for funding under the 
     program is given to those States that propose--
       (1) to maximize participation by offering a program whose 
     terms are likely to meet with widespread acceptance among 
     landowners;
       (2) to ensure that land enrolled under the State program 
     has appropriate wildlife habitat;
       (3) to strengthen wildlife habitat improvement efforts on 
     land enrolled under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement 
     Program; and
       (4) to use additional Federal, State, or private resources 
     in carrying out the program.
       Clarifies that nothing in the bill preempts a State law 
     (inclosing any State liability law).
       Sec. 4. Repeals Sec. 1101(b)(2)(C) of the 2002 Farm Bill, a 
     provision that USDA has interpreted to require that land 
     enrolled under any State conservation program that prohibits 
     the production of a crop be removed from a farm's acreage 
     base for purposes of federal farm program benefits.
                                  ____

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senators Conrad, 
Roberts and others in introducing the Voluntary Public Access and 
Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Act of 2003. This bill offers an 
excellent opportunity to help conserve wildlife habitat, increase the 
amount of land available for outdoor recreational activities, and help 
farmers and ranchers.
  Hunting and other outdoor activities are very popular and are an 
important part of our country's heritage. Unfortunately, the shortage 
of public land in some States limits the ability of people to enjoy 
these activities. Providing incentives to increase public access to 
private lands can enhance outdoor recreational opportunities and help 
rural economies.
  In many rural areas businesses associated with wildlife recreation, 
such as sporting goods stores, campgrounds, and motels and hotels, are 
an important part of the economy. By increasing the lands available for 
outdoor recreation, not only will more local residents be able to enjoy 
this activity, but we will also encourage more people to visit rural 
areas, bringing additional revenue to these rural communities. When 
hunting, bird watching or hiking on accessible lands, visitors stay in 
local lodging, purchase goods in stores and eat in restaurants. The 
money generated from these activities is good for rural economies.
  In many States, such as Iowa, many farmers and landowners have 
traditionally granted hunters and other outdoor recreationists 
permission to use their land when asked. This bill will help compensate 
owners and operators of farm and ranch land for their generosity and 
also encourage more of them to provide such access to their land. And, 
of course, this bill will benefit wildlife by encouraging landowners 
and operators to maintain, increase and improve habitat for wildlife.
  In States access programs now operating, information listing enrolled 
private land is often readily available to allow recreationists to 
access the land without the need to bother the owners to ask for 
permission. Many existing programs also have the very important benefit 
of reducing the liability of landowners and operators in case of injury 
to people using their land. State programs also help ensure enforcement 
of hunting and other regulations and help landowners and operators 
posts signs and information.
  Currently at least 13 States have public access programs that would 
be eligible for funds from this bill. While Iowa currently does not 
have a program, there is great interest in starting a program, and I 
believe this bill will enable Iowa to start one. This bill provides 
flexibility to allow States to design programs to meet the particular 
needs and interests of landowners and recreationists in each State 
while at the same time ensuring that the goals of increasing wildlife 
habitat and available lands for public recreation are met.
  I am proud to cosponsor this bill and urge my colleagues to support 
it.

                          ____________________