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By Staff (AXcess News) Washington - Twelve national environmnetal gorups this week urged Congress to increase funding for voluntary USDA conservation programs when legislators renew the Farm Bill. The environmental groups urged House Agricutlure Committee Chairman Collin Peterson and Rankin Member Bob Goodlatte to "dramatically expand incentives for farm, ranch and forest land management practices that benefit the environment." In particular, the groups urged Reps. Peterson and Goodlatte to: -- Increase cots-sharing assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to $2 billion annually; -- Expand the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program to $300 million annually; -- Reserve 20 percent of working lands conservation funds to promote cooperative conservation agreements that link together groups of farmers to meet regional environmental challenges; -- Protect at least 5 million acres of farm and pasture land from development through the Farm and Ranchland Protcetion Program and teh Graslsand Reserve Program and create a new a program to help local governments and land trutss acquire community forests and other oepn spaces; -- Reform the Conservation Reserve Program by enrolling more streamside buffers and other marginal, environmentally-sensitive lands that can ftiler runoff and provied habitat for wildlife; -- Expand the Wetlands Reserve Program to 5 million acres; -- Make the Conservation Seucrity Program available to more producers who meet high levels of envrionmental performance; -- Expand forestry incentive progrmas to $250 million annually; -- Expand energy title programs to provide grants, loans and loan guarantees to farmers and farmer-owned businesses to develop energy on farms in ways that also meet our environmental challenges; -- Expand efforts to help farmers make the transition to organic production systems.
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