Groups Praise Introduction of Pro-Forest Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 14, 2025) — A coalition of conservation, hunter, angler, and forest management organizations and companies applauded the introduction of the Forest Conservation Easement Program (FCEP) Act of 2025. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., with the goal of including the legislation in the Farm Bill. 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 percent of at-risk species; 
• Supporting 2.5 million jobs; and 
• Accounting for 90 percent of the nation’s harvests for forest products.
  

“New York’s forests are a crucial environmental and economic resource, as the forest industry employs over 60,000 people and contributes approximately $4.6 billion to New York’s economy each year,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Preserving forest land is vital to maintain clean water, air, wildlife habitats, and jobs without interrupting a steady supply of manufacturing materials. Congress needs to see the forest for the trees, and I am proud to work with Senator Wicker to lead this effort so we can ensure our working forests remain as forests and are managed sustainably.” 

“Forestry is one of the largest agricultural industries in Mississippi, creating jobs and providing valuable habitats for wildlife,” said Senator Wicker. “I am proud to work alongside our nation’s forest owners to conserve more of our land and ensure this vital industry remains strong for generations to come.” 

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

“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 Senators Wicker and Gillibrand 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,” says 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 Members Senators Gillibrand and Wicker 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 and local economies and more,” said Jennifer Miller Herzog, interim president and 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 that forest conservation provides 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 both economic prosperity and maintaining healthy populations of common and at-risk species and the habitats they need. 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. Senators Gillibrand and Wicker 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,” says 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 (HFRP) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 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. 

For more information, visit www.foresteasement.org. 

Contact 
Media Contact: media@conservationfund.org

ADDITIONAL QUOTES:

Alabama Forest Land Trust
“The FCEP will be a monumental conservation tool in states that do not have funding programs for private forestland conservation. Many of our landowners cannot realize the tax benefits offered as the only financial incentive for conservation easements. FCEP also removes the burden on state and federal agencies, allowing local, accredited land trusts to engage with landowners and hold the deeded conservation easements.” 

Mike Parr, president, American Bird Conservancy 
“Forests and other natural systems are being lost, degraded, and fragmented by our increasing and changing land use demands. The Forest Conservation Easement Program adds a much-needed tool to allow willing landowners to protect important tracts of forest at-risk from new development. Forest birds — like the Golden-winged Warbler or the Eastern Whip-poor-will — rely on diverse and healthy forests to survive, and their numbers are declining. ABC applauds U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss. for introducing this vital legislation.” 

Nicole Zussman, president and CEO, Appalachian Mountain Club
“Working forests mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce biodiversity loss, and every year our research scientists learn more about the invaluable natural services that intact forests provide. Working forests also contribute significantly to regional economies and are often where generations of people find meaningful, inspiring experiences in the outdoors. FCEP provides a key tool for ensuring that we’re protecting our nation’s working forests for the well-being of people and the outdoors.” 

Mark Wourms, Ph.D., president and CEO, Bernheim Forest and Arboretum
“Bernheim Forest and Arboretum is privately owned and operated. We are proud to attract over 300,000 visitors per year who enjoy hiking, fishing, bird watching and educational activities in our beautiful central Kentucky forest. We support the Forest Conservation Easement Program because it will help ensure a resilient future for tourism, recreation and stewardship jobs, clean water, and forest products, as well as enhance the health and well-being of all communities. Please support the FCEP for all its benefits to the economy, environment, and health.”  

Forest Investment Associates
“Healthy markets and strong conservation tools are both essential to keeping forests as forests. Forest Investment Associates applauds the bipartisan effort behind the FCEP Act of 2025 to enhance conservation easements while ensuring private forests continue to deliver economic and environmental benefits.” 

Scott Jones, CEO, Forest Landowners Association
“Expanding access to both traditional timber markets and emerging opportunities like voluntary conservation easements is essential for multigenerational family forest landowners as they face growing challenges like rising natural disasters, workforce shortages, and economic uncertainty. The Forest Conservation Easement Program Act would provide an important tool to ensure private working forests remain forests, allowing landowners to make the best decisions for the long-term health and the profitability of their land.” 

Kentucky Woodland Owners Association
“Forests are a critical and renewable resource for our economy and our environment. With the rapid loss of woodlands to various forms of non-agricultural and non-forest development, the importance of incentives to preserve forested land, such as FCEP, becomes even more important.” 

Wilbur Peer, executive director, The KKAC Organization
“Private forestland plays a vital role in preserving natural resources and maintaining family legacies. The Forest Conservation Easement Program will provide essential tools to ensure these lands remain intact, productive, and beneficial for future generations. At The KKAC Organization, we have seen firsthand how access to conservation programs empowers landowners to sustain their forests while maintaining economic stability. We applaud Senators Gillibrand and Wicker for their leadership in championing this critical legislation and look forward to its positive impact on private forest owners across the country.” 

Judith Camuso, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
“America’s forests are one of our country’s greatest assets—they provide innumerable environmental services, outdoor recreation opportunities, habitat for species of greatest conservation need, and support vibrant forest product industries and rural economies. The Forest Conservation Easement Program would expand state fish and wildlife agencies’ ability to safeguard privately-held forests, helping to ensure that these forests—and all the public benefits they provide—continue to exist for generations to come.” 

Willy the Losen, CEO and conservation director, Putnam Land Conservancy
“Conservation easements are an essential tool for conserving private forests. Private forestland helps provide the critical green infrastructure need for healthy communities and wildlife habitat while providing sustainable jobs.”  

Jimmy Bullock, senior vice president, forest sustainability, Resource Management Service, LLC
“Privately owned forests conserve critically important landscapes, protect vital watersheds many communities depend on for drinking water, help clean the air we breathe, and provide habitats for wildlife species. They are also the economic lifeline for many rural communities. Yet, many of these lands are being converted from forests to other uses. The Forest Conservation Easement Program is essential to keeping many of these forests as forests in perpetuity.”

Pete Lopez, executive director, Scenic Hudson
“Nearly three quarters of New York’s forestland is privately owned, and these parcels are generally small and vulnerable to subdivision and development pressures. Maintaining these forested lands is crucial in New York and throughout the country for improving water quality, providing wildlife habitat, sequestering carbon, and much more. By providing federal support for conserving these lands, FCEP will fill a pressing need. Scenic Hudson commends Senators Gillibrand and Wicker for their leadership in championing this critically important legislation and helping to protect America’s forests.”  

Jack Savage, president, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
“New England forests have long provided critical benefits, including clean drinking water, wildlife habitat and renewable wood products. We continue to lose 5,000 acres of forest annually in New Hampshire. Keeping forests as forests is an urgent priority to maintain our quality of life as we address climate change this century. As a land trust, the Forest Society would be able to conserve more forests more quickly through the Forest Conservation Easement Program.”

Joel Pedersen, president and CEO, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
“Voluntary conservation easements are our most durable tool for restoring, enhancing, and maintaining wildlife habitat on private land. The FCEP Act of 2025 will fill a gap in our easement programs, helping family forest owners benefit fish and wildlife while keeping working forests working.” 

Marisa Riggi, executive director, Western New York Land Conservancy
“Protecting forests in Western New York is essential to preserving our region’s rich biodiversity, clean air, and safeguarding water quality in two Great Lakes. This ensures future generations can experience the beauty and resilience of these landscapes. The Western New York Land Conservancy is committed to conserving our irreplaceable forests—not just for the wildlife that call them home, but for the health of our communities and the well-being of our planet. FCEP funding will help make this future possible.”