I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1351 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage owners and operators 
of privately-held farm, ranch, and forest land to voluntarily make their 
land available for public access under programs administered by States 
and tribal governments, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2005 
Mr. POMEROY (for himself, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. AN-
DREWS, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. HERSETH, 
Mr. MOORE of Kansas, and Mr. UDALL of Colorado) introduced the fol-
lowing 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, ranch, and 
forest land to voluntarily make their land available for 
public access under programs administered by States 
and tribal governments, and for other purposes. 
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 
2005’’.
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 and tribal governments have 
established successful but modest walk-in programs 
to encourage public access on private farm, ranch, 
and forest 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, ranch, and forest 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 
new section: 
‘‘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 and 
tribal governments may apply for grants to encourage
owners and operators of privately-held farm, ranch, and 
forest land to voluntarily make that land available for pub-
lic access under programs administered by the States and 
tribal governments. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In submitting applications for 
a grant under the program, a State or tribal government 
shall describe— 
‘‘(1) the benefits that the State or tribal gov-
ernment intends to achieve by encouraging public ac-
cess on private farm, ranch, and forest 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 and tribal governments that pro-
pose— 
‘‘(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 or tribal government 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 section 
1234(f)(4) by providing incentives to increase public 
access on that land; and 
‘‘(4) to use additional Federal, State, tribal 
government, or private resources in carrying out the 
program. 
‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 
this section preempts a State or tribal government law (in-
cluding any State or tribal government liability law). 
‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate 
such regulations as are necessary to carry out this sec-
tion.’’. 
(b) FUNDING.—Section 1241(a) of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) The voluntary public access program 
under section 1240Q, using, to the maximum extent 
practicable, $20,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2005 
through 2009.’’.
SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF EXCESS BASE ACRES. 
Section 1101(g)(2) of the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7911(g)(2)) is amended 
by striking subparagraph (C). 
Æ