A coalition of farm and environmental groups is pressing Congress to boost funding for land conservation in the next fiscal year, after seeing those programs take a hit in the current fiscal year.
The National Association of Conservation Districts, the National Farmers Union and others urged lawmakers Friday to provide at least $1.2 billion for conservation operations at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, up from $915 million in the recently enacted fiscal 2024 packages.
Fiscal 2025 begins Oct. 1. The Biden administration requested $985 million for conservation operations in its budget plan released last month.
Most of the money in question goes to technical assistance for farmers and other landowners, for which the administration requested $869 million.
