I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3482

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage 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 States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2003

Mr. POMEROY (for himself and Mr. OSBORNE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage 

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 States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voluntary Public Ac5 cess and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Act of 

6 2003’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) according to the United States Fish and 

2 Wildlife Service, in 2001, 82,000,000 individuals in 

3 the United States aged 16 years and older partici4 pated in wildlife-related recreation, including 

5 34,000,000 individuals who hunted, and more than 

6 66,000,000 who engaged in wildlife-related recre7 ation such as observing, feeding, or photographing 

8 wildlife, in the United States; 

9 (2) individuals who participated in wildlife-re10 lated activities in 2001 spent an estimated 

11 $108,000,000,000, including—

12 (A) more than $35,000,000,000 on fishing; 

13 (B) nearly $21,000,000,000 on hunting; 

14 and 

15 (C) more than $28,000,000,000 on food, 

16 lodging, and transportation; 

17 (3) the growing public demand for outdoor rec18 reational opportunities is increasingly constrained by 

19 the limits on both public and private land resources; 

20 (4) limited public access on private land has 

21 often frustrated and disappointed hunters and other 

22 naturalists, and undermined the relationship be23 tween land owners and the general public; 

24 (5) several States have established successful 

25 but modest walk-in programs to encourage public ac-
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1 cess on private farm and ranch land, yet the demand 

2 for such voluntary access programs remains largely 

3 unfulfilled; 

4 (6) traditional agricultural markets have in re5 cent years offered limited income opportunities for 

6 farm and ranch land owners and operators; and 

7 (7) current proposals to reform world agricul8 tural trade favor the development of new methods to 

9 support the income of agricultural producers that 

10 have minimal impact on agricultural production and 

11 prices. 

12 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCEN13 TIVE PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title 

15 XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb 

16 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1240Q. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN18 CENTIVE PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

20 voluntary public access program under which States may 

21 apply for grants to encourage owners and operators of pri22 vately-held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make that 

23 land available for access by the public under programs ad24 ministered by the States. 
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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In submitting applications for 

2 a grant under the program, a State shall describe—

3 ‘‘(1) the benefits that the State intends to 

4 achieve by encouraging public access on private farm 

5 and ranch land, through such activities as hunting, 

6 fishing, bird watching, and related outdoor activities; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(2) the methods that will be used to achieve 

9 those benefits. 

10 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In approving applications and 

11 awarding grants under the program, the Secretary shall 

12 give priority to States that propose—

13 ‘‘(1) to maximize participation by offering a 

14 program the terms of which are likely to meet with 

15 widespread acceptance among landowners; 

16 ‘‘(2) to ensure that land enrolled under the 

17 State program has appropriate wildlife habitat; 

18 ‘‘(3) to strengthen wildlife habitat improvement 

19 efforts on land enrolled in a special conservation re20 serve enhancement program described in 1234(f)(4) 

21 by providing incentives to increase public access on 

22 that land; and 

23 ‘‘(4) to use additional Federal, State, or private 

24 resources in carrying out the program. 
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1 ‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

2 this section preempts a State law (including any State li3 ability law). 

4 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate 

5 such regulations as are necessary to carry out this sec6 tion.’’. 

7 (b) FUNDING.—Section 1241(a) of the Food Security 

8 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(8) The voluntary public access program 

11 under section 1240Q, using, to the maximum extent 

12 practicable, $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2003 

13 through 2007.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF EXCESS BASE ACRES. 

15 Section 1101(g)(2) of the Farm Security and Rural 

16 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7911(g)(2)) is amended 

17 by striking subparagraph (C).

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