Heinrich, Sheehy Reintroduce Legislation to Scale Up Locally Led Big Game Migration Initiatives

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) reintroduced the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act, legislation to help the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scale up popular, locally-led, and voluntary big game migration pilot projects with private landowners, conservationists, and agriculture groups.

"In New Mexico and across the West, private landowners and agricultural producers play a key role in our effort to increase habitat connectivity and improve wildlife migration," said Heinrich. "I'm proud to reintroduce bipartisan legislation to invest in proven conservation practices and encourage land stewards to embrace new tools like virtual fencing to help us protect iconic big game species like pronghorn antelope, Rocky Mountain elk, and mule deer."

"Whether you're a farmer, rancher, private landowner, or public land hunter, this is a bipartisan commonsense bill that we can all get behind. By empowering locals with voluntary incentives, not heavy-handed mandates, the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act will help us protect our outdoor heritage for generations to come. This is a win-win and I'm proud to be leading the effort in the U.S. Senate," said Sheehy.

The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act will support local farmers, producers, and landowners who voluntarily want to make it easier for big game species to migrate across their lands. This legislation will help USDA prioritize the creation and maintenance of wildlife habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors on working lands through existing USDA conservation programs. Additionally, the bill makes virtual fencing a high priority that is eligible for USDA research and extension grants, encouraging research on the benefits of virtual fencing. Conventional fencing across the West results in wildlife entanglement, which is often lethal.

Heinrich and Sheehy's Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act will help USDA scale up work that began with its Migratory Big Game Initiative. Under the initiative, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) are utilizing voluntary and incentive-based programs to support conservation on grasslands, shrublands, and forested habitats located on Tribal and privately owned working lands.

The legislation is led by Heinrich and Sheehy in the Senate. In the House, the bill is led by U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.).

The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act is endorsed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, National Wildlife Federation, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, National Audubon Society, Pew Charitable Trusts, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, National Parks Conservation Association, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, North American Grouse Partnership, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Western Landowners Alliance, National Cattleman's Beef Association, Public Lands Council, and Congressional Sportsmen Foundation.

"Working lands provide key habitat for migratory fish and wildlife, including big game like elk and mule deer. USDA's voluntary conservation programs need to work together to support farmers and ranchers who create and enhance this habitat, and the next Farm Bill is our opportunity to make that happen," said Joel Webster, Chief Conservation Officer, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. "The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act removes unnecessary barriers to working lands stewardship and TRCP thanks Senator Heinrich and Senator Sheehy for their leadership on this bill."

"The bipartisan and commonsense Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act will help wildlife that migrate through private fields, pastures, and forests - and the hunters, anglers, birders, and outdoor recreationists that enjoy them," said Aviva Glaser, Senior Director for Agriculture Policy, National Wildlife Federation. "Thank you to Senators Martin Heinrich and Tim Sheehy for introducing this legislation and highlighting how wildlife and people, including farmers and ranchers, can thrive when we create habitat connectivity."

"Working lands are critical to ensuring the connectivity of wildlife habitat and migratory corridors. As hunters we rely on healthy, intact habitat in our pursuit of game species - which don't recognize public or private land in their movement. We applaud Reps. Vasquez and Zinke and Sens. Heinrich and Sheehy for their leadership on the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act which will improve Farm Bill programs to better support these private land conservation efforts," said Jack Polentes, Government Relations Manager, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.

"The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act is a powerful boost for wildlife and working lands alike. By prioritizing wildlife corridors and connectivity in existing Farm Bill conservation programs and investing in cutting edge technology, this bill empowers producers and local conservation partners to work together to keep human and wildlife communities healthy and well-connected," said Brendan Moynahan, CEO, Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

"Across the West, farmers and ranchers serve as stewards and essential partners in conserving wildlife habitat," said Jon Hayes, Vice President, National Audubon Society, Southwest (N.M. and Ariz.). "Audubon joins them across working landscapes to keep lands productive while maintaining the open habitats and migration corridors that birds, big game, and other wildlife depend on. The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act builds on this collaborative approach by supporting voluntary, locally led conservation that benefits producers, wildlife, and rural communities alike."

"We commend Senators Heinrich and Sheehy and Reps. Zinke (R-MT) and Vasquez (D-NM) for recognizing the economic and ecological importance of habitat connectivity and introducing legislation that would provide greater incentives for willing landowners to facilitate wildlife migration on working lands," said Marcia Argust, Director of the U.S. Conservation Program, Pew Charitable Trusts.

"When farmers and ranchers conserve and improve habitat corridors for big game species, these ribbons of grasslands and sagebrush shrub-steppe also support numerous upland birds like sage grouse, sharptails, pheasants, and quail," said Andrew Schmidt, Director of Government Affairs, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. "By reducing red tape and building on recent efforts to increase compatibility between Farm Bill conservation programs, the Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act is a win for agricultural producers, sportsmen and women, and wildlife."

"Private landowners living next to national parks and other public lands are crucial partners in wildlife conservation. According to a national survey by the Harris Poll, 7 out of 10 Americans support federal investments in privately owned lands next to national parks to maintain park wildlife. Empowering willing landowners with additional dollars for conservation - including funding for habitat maintenance and restoration, fence removal for safe passage of wildlife, and wildlife-friendly farm practices - can conserve national park wildlife in our parks and beyond," said Stephanie Adams, Director, National Parks Conservation Association's Wildlife Program.

The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act builds on Heinrich's longtime support for connecting wildlife corridors.

Last December, Heinrich and Sheehy introduced the Wildlife Road Crossings Program Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation to make permanent the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Wildlife Crossings Program and authorize funding for the program through 2031.

In 2022, Heinrich helped secure $350 million for the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, as part of the 2022 Infrastructure Law.

In December 2023, Heinrich, Vasquez, and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) announced a $480,000 investment for the Mescalero Apache Tribe from the DOT's new Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program to improve wildlife crossings along US-70.

In 2019, New Mexico enacted the Wildlife Corridors Act to make it safer for animals to migrate across the state with a focus on reducing wildlife and vehicle collisions. That state law directed the New Mexico Department of Transportation in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to develop a comprehensive New Mexico Wildlife Corridors Action Plan to identify and improve safety in wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots on roadways that pose a particularly high risk to the traveling public.

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