Newhouse Introduces Bill Focused Conservation

Last week, Representative Dan Newhouse, chairman of the Western Caucus, introduced the Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act of 2021. Newhouse says H.R. 2613 will allocate funding for land-grant institutions to partner with local farmers to boost conservation and innovative climate practices. Newhouse noted farmers are already responsible stewards of the land, and this legislation empowers producers to voluntarily adopt practices that suit their individual needs while enabling the federal government to build on the successes already taking place in agricultural communities. 

“For generations, farmers and ranchers in Central Washington and across the United States have understood that, in order to continue their important job of feeding the world, we must work together to conserve one of our most precious resources: our land,” Newhouse said. “The Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act will give our local producers, land-grant universities, USDA-NRCS, and local entities the resources they need to expand upon the conservation efforts that are already taking place.”

“WSU works hard to collaborate with our stakeholders around the state to support our agriculture industry and partners with the most innovative research," said Andre Denis Wright, Dean of Washington State University’s College of Agricultural Human and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). “As a farmer, former director of Washington State Department of Agriculture and a graduate of WSU’s CAHNRS, Congressman Newhouse brings a unique perspective to this discussion as he understand the importance of land grant institutions across the country having the resources to encourage innovative solutions to climate challenges Washington’s farmers are facing.”

H.R. 2613, the Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act of 2021, is the House companion to legislation already introduced in the Senate . This legislation would do the following: 

• Enable partnerships between land-grant institutions and local farmers to increase uptake of conservation and innovative climate practices
• Allow farmers to voluntarily adopt practices that suite their individualized needs
• Require land-grant institutions to partner with a non-profit, state, or federal entity
• Allow the partnership to conduct a variety of activities to support farming communities like workshops, distribution of digital materials, and tests to measure the effectiveness of conservation and climate smart practices
• Provide $13 million in funding for 4-year grants, with a maximum grant of $400,000

Click Here to read H.R. 2613 in its entirety.

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