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 to 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 (including
any State liability law).
SEC. 4. Repeals Sec. 1101(g)(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 farms
acreage base for purposes of federal farm program benefits.
