Groups praise introduction of pro-forest legislation in U.S. House

Washington, D.C. — A coalition of conservation, hunter, angler and forest management organizations and companies applauded the introduction of the Forest Conservation Easement Program Act of 2025, H.R. 3476, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. Representative Trent Kelly, R-Miss., and U.S. Representative Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., with the goal of including the legislation in the Farm Bill with mandatory funding. Original cosponsors include U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Michael Guest, R-Miss., Barry Moore, R-Ala., Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Paul Tonko, D-N.Y. The FCEP Act of 2025 will fill a critical funding gap to help keep private forestland intact and sustainably managed for timber.

Private forests comprise 58 percent of all forestland in the U.S. and face significant conversion pressure from housing and urban development. FCEP will keep forests as forests. It will allow willing private and tribal landowners to voluntarily sell their development rights to prevent conversion to non-forest uses. Private forests in an FCEP conservation easement can remain privately owned, working and on tax rolls. Private forests also benefit rural and urban communities by:

• Filtering nearly 30 percent of the nation’s drinking water.

• Providing habitat for 60% of at-risk species.

• Supporting 2.5 million jobs.

• Accounting for 90% of the nation’s harvests for forest products.

Groups from around the country praised the introduction of the FCEP Act of 2025 in the House.

“Keeping forests as forests has never been more critical, and we need all willing partners at the table,” said Danielle Watson, senior director of policy at American Forests. “The Forest Conservation Easement Program expands the scope of possibility by embracing new opportunities for Tribes, land trusts, and local governments to steward working forests for water, wildlife, human health, and forest products. American Forests applauds Representatives Kelly and Goodlander for championing bipartisan legislation that has the potential to significantly expand forest conservation across the country.”

"Forest conservation has been a cornerstone of the Boone and Crockett Club’s mission since Theodore Roosevelt helped champion the Timberland Reserve Bill in 1891, laying the foundation for forests held in the public trust," said James L. Cummins, immediate past president of the Boone and Crockett Club. "While we have strong, voluntary, easement-based conservation programs for nearly every habitat type, forests remain an exception. Given the growing pressures on our nation’s forests—and their immense potential to help address many of society’s challenges—the Forest Conservation Easement Program is a timely and essential tool to advance forest conservation for future generations."

“Voluntary conservation agreements are important tools for preventing the conversion of forests to other land uses,” said Jeff Crane, president and CEO of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “We commend Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Representative Trent Kelly and Representative Goodlander, as well as the other Members of Congress who are championing this legislation, for introducing the Forest Conservation Easement Program Act of 2025 to incentivize landowners to conserve forests and reduce fragmentation to provide habitat for fish and wildlife. We look forward to working with the bill sponsors to advance this legislation to support the private working forests across the country that provide critical access for sportsmen and women.”

“The United States loses approximately half a million acres of privately owned forestland to development each year, at the expense of clean water, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, timber supplies, local economies and more,” said Ashley Demosthenes, CEO of the Land Trust Alliance. “Land trusts are uniquely positioned to help private landowners protect and manage their forested lands while also ensuring the public enjoys the benefits of forest conservation for the environment and economy. FCEP enjoys broad, bipartisan support and will allow land trusts to work with the federal government to ensure that private forests remain forests and in the hands of local families and small businesses.”

“Conservation easement programs are an important tool that should be available to all private forest owners,” said Dave Tenny, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners. “Combined with healthy markets for forest products, conservation easement programs help privately owned forests provide a full range of benefits to rural communities. These include economic prosperity, a healthy environment, and places to hunt, fish, and recreate. Smart legislation, like the Forest Conservation Easement Program Act of 2025, helps America’s private working forests continue to provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and good-paying jobs in rural communities.”

“Over the next decade, we're projected to lose about a million acres of forestland each year to fragmentation and conversion,” said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. “The Conservation Fund is dedicated to preserving working forests, which support local jobs and the rural tax base, by addressing the threat of forestland conversion to non-forest uses. We applaud U.S. Representatives Kelly and Goodlander, and the FCEP Act’s original cosponsors, for stepping up to provide an important, missing conservation tool for preserving working forests and look forward to continuing working with leaders in Congress to get this pragmatic and bipartisan FCEP solution included in the Farm Bill.”

"Forests play a vital role in sustaining the fabric of America—filtering drinking water, providing critical wildlife habitat, buffering against floodwaters, sequestering carbon, and supporting livelihoods through essential forest products and jobs," said Camille Green, conservation policy coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi. "The Forest Conservation Easement Program is a pivotal step toward safeguarding these invaluable resources for future generations."

FCEP is an expansion of and successor to the current Healthy Forests Reserve Program under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. As a successor program, FCEP has the potential to offer new resources to meet various needs, which is especially critical at this time. One significant feature of this expansion is that it provides funding for conservation easements to be acquired by land trusts, Tribes, and local governments, similar to a longstanding program for farmland and ranchland. This fills a vital funding gap for forestland.

U.S. Senate companion legislation, the FCEP Act of 2025, S. 1050, was introduced on March 14 by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

For more information, visit www.foresteasement.org.

About the Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by empowering and mobilizing land trusts in communities across America to conserve land for the benefit of all. The Alliance represents approximately 1,000 member land trusts and affiliates supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., with staff working in communities across the U.S.