Wildlife Corridors and USDA Conservation Programs Act of 2025
Wildlife Corridors and USDA Conservation Programs Act of 2025 aims to formally identify and designate certain habitat areas as American wildlife corridors to improve connectivity for fish and wildlife. The designation would be supported by voluntary conservation programs run by the Department of Agriculture ( USDA), with coordination across the Interior Department agencies (U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The bill outlines a process to identify habitat connectivity areas, create maps, report findings to Congress, and establish criteria for official designation as corridors within a few years. Once designated, the act directs federal agencies to provide technical assistance, encourage compatible farm and forest practices, and potentially adjust existing conservation contracts to better protect corridors. The bill also updates privacy protections for program participants and clarifies regulatory considerations related to corridor designations. In short, the bill seeks to pair scientific mapping and designation of wildlife corridors with existing voluntary USDA conservation programs to promote long-term habitat connectivity, while giving landowners options to participate in or adjust conservation agreements to support these corridors.
Key Points
- 1Identification, mapping, and reporting: The Secretary of Agriculture, with Interior colleagues, must identify habitat connectivity areas and adjacent lands, develop maps, and submit periodic Congress reports detailing identified areas, data, maps, and information gaps.
- 2Criteria and designation: The Secretary must establish criteria within one year to judge whether a habitat connectivity area should be designated as an American wildlife corridor (based on ecosystem benefits, multiple species, and potential benefits to threatened or endangered species). Within three years of establishing criteria, areas meeting them can be designated as corridors.
- 3Technical assistance and outreach: The Secretary, with relevant Directors, would provide technical standards, best practices, outreach, and education to conserve corridors. It also allows and encourages producers to adopt wildlife-friendly practices, monitor habitats, and enhance species’ ability to respond to changing conditions.
- 4Use of conservation contracts and land enrollment: The bill allows prioritizing enrollment or reenrollment in USDA conservation programs for corridor lands and permits modifying or terminating existing contracts if the land is enrolled in specified programs (e.g., the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program or the Healthy Forests Reserve Program) to better support corridor conservation.
- 5Cooperation and administration: The act authorizes cooperative agreements with federal, state, local governments, NGOs, and higher education institutions to carry out corridor-related work.
- 6Administrative updates: Privacy protections for participant information in natural resources programs would explicitly cover Wildlife Corridors and USDA Conservation Programs Act of 2025. Regulatory language would also recognize American wildlife corridors as a related wildlife resource concern, helping integrate corridors into agency policies and funding decisions.