Land Trust Alliance statement on House passage of 2026 Farm Bill
The Farm Bill heads to the Senate with strong conservation provisions that support private land conservation, including a standalone Forest Conservation Easement Program.
Washington — The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 has passed out of the House on a 224-200 bipartisan vote. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The following statement can be attributed to Lori Faeth, senior director of government relations at the Land Trust Alliance:
"The Land Trust Alliance applauds the House’s passage of a Farm Bill that reflects many of the Land Trust Alliance’s highest priorities. The conservation title, and more specifically, Farm Bill conservation programs, are the largest single federal source of funding for voluntary private land conservation, and this bill retains historic investment in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. It also includes provisions that would allow even more landowners to participate in ACEP by increasing the federal share for most transactions. The text recognizes land trusts’ expertise by granting certified land trusts a streamlined path to administer easements and minimize administrative burdens on the agriculture secretary. This bill constitutes a huge step toward providing consistency and certainty for landowners to leverage limited agency resources and granting flexibility that allows for the long-term care of conservation easements.
“We applaud the inclusion of a stand-alone Forest Conservation Easement Program with mandatory funding and appreciate the bipartisan support for the program throughout the process. The Forest Conservation Easement Program will fill a critical gap in the conservation of working forested lands and help keep them intact and sustainably managed, providing numerous economic and environmental benefits to rural and urban communities.
“The Land Trust Alliance and its member land trusts recognize the importance of the Farm Bill in helping farmers, ranchers and foresters conserve and enhance their working lands, and we look forward to working with the Senate to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill this year for the benefit of all Americans."
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.