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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voluntary Public Ac-
cess and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Act of 
2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) according to the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, in 2001, 82,000,000 individuals in 
the United States aged 16 years and older partici-
pated 
in 
wildlife-related 
recreation, 
including 
34,000,000 individuals who hunted, and more than 
66,000,000 who engaged in wildlife-related recre-
ation such as observing, feeding, or photographing 
wildlife, in the United States; 
(2) individuals who participated in wildlife-re-
lated 
activities 
in 
2001 
spent 
an 
estimated 
$108,000,000,000, including—
(A) more than $35,000,000,000 on fishing; 
(B) nearly $21,000,000,000 on hunting; 
and 
(C) more than $28,000,000,000 on food, 
lodging, and transportation; 
(3) the growing public demand for outdoor rec-
reational opportunities is increasingly constrained by 
the limits on both public and private land resources; 
(4) limited public access on private land has 
often frustrated and disappointed hunters and other 
naturalists, and undermined the relationship be-
tween land owners and the general public; 
(5) several States have established successful 
but modest walk-in programs to encourage public ac-
cess on private farm and ranch land, yet the demand 
for such voluntary access programs remains largely 
unfulfilled; 
(6) traditional agricultural markets have in re-
cent years offered limited income opportunities for 
farm and ranch land owners and operators; and 
(7) current proposals to reform world agricul-
tural trade favor the development of new methods to 
support the income of agricultural producers that 
have minimal impact on agricultural production and 
prices. 
SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT INCEN-
TIVE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title 
XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1240Q. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN-
CENTIVE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
voluntary public access program under which States may 
apply for grants to encourage owners and operators of pri-
vately-held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make that 
land available for access by the public under programs ad-
ministered by the States.
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In submitting applications for 
a grant under the program, a State shall describe—
‘‘(1) the benefits that the State intends to 
achieve by encouraging public access on private farm 
and ranch land, through such activities as hunting, 
fishing, bird watching, and related outdoor activities; 
and 
‘‘(2) the methods that will be used to achieve 
those benefits. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In approving applications and 
awarding grants under the program, the Secretary shall 
give priority to States that propose—
‘‘(1) to maximize participation by offering a 
program the terms of which are likely to meet with 
widespread acceptance among landowners; 
‘‘(2) to ensure that land enrolled under the 
State program has appropriate wildlife habitat; 
‘‘(3) to strengthen wildlife habitat improvement 
efforts on land enrolled in a special conservation re-
serve enhancement program described in 1234(f)(4) 
by providing incentives to increase public access on 
that land; and 
‘‘(4) to use additional Federal, State, or private 
resources in carrying out the program.