Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) work every day to advance policies that put more habitat on the ground, expand access for upland hunters, and keep sound science at the center of wildlife decision-making. Learn more about our advocacy priorities below.
PF & QF’s Government Affairs team engages at both the federal and state levels, guided by a simple test: does a policy conserve habitat, create opportunity for hunters and wildlife enthusiasts, rely on the best available science, and strengthen the chapter network that makes our mission possible?
The farm bill is America’s single largest source of conservation funding for private lands, and private lands are where most pheasants and quail live. We advocate for a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) built around its core purpose: perennial cover held in long-term contracts, with enrollment levels and rental rates that incentivize the enrollment of marginal, highly erodible, and environmentally sensitive lands. Beyond CRP, we work to strengthen the full suite of working lands programs made possible through the farm bill, including dedicated wildlife funding within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), conservation easements that keep grasslands as grasslands, and voluntary public access programs that open private acres to hunters. Click here to learn more about the range of programs supported through the Farm Bill.
The farm bill is the single largest source of conservation funding for private lands in the United States. Learn more below about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s advocacy for farm bill conservation programs and their impact on agriculture, wildlife, and rural communities.
Upland hunters are a driving force for conservation in this country, sustaining both the habitat we work to protect and an outdoor tradition passed on to future generations. We support legislation that expands access to public lands and waters, better digital mapping of the places hunters can already go, and voluntary programs that open private land to walk-in hunting. At the state level, we work to lift outdated Sunday hunting restrictions, ensure accessibility of hunter education, and support right to hunt and fish protections.
Habitat work requires sustained investment. We advocate for strong annual appropriations for federal programs like NRCS' Conservation Technical Assistance and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act; full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and passage of legislation to restore North America's prairies and sagebrush steppe while supporting the ranchers, farmers, and rural communities who steward them. We also support strengthening the Pittman-Robertson Act (which provides federal funding to states and territories for wildlife restoration, conservation, and hunter education and safety programs); defending existing state funding sources from cuts; and creative state-level funding tools such as license plates, habitat stamps, and lottery proceeds directed to habitat.
Wildlife policy works best when it follows the science. We support wildlife commission appointments grounded in professional expertise, wildlife management decisions made by trained biologists rather than ballot initiatives, and a habitat-first approach to restoring wild bird populations. We back expanded use of prescribed fire to keep grasslands and forests healthy; active management of public forest lands; and voluntary, incentive-based approaches to conserving at-risk species before regulation becomes necessary.
Habitat policy is increasingly written in state capitols, and PF & QF are there. From conservation funding and license fee modernization to protecting dedicated conservation dollars from diversion, our state policy work is expanding every year, powered by the chapters, members, and volunteers who make The Habitat Organization what it is.
Join us, respond to our action alerts, and make your voice heard for upland habitat.
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