More Idaho farmers, ranchers can now get federal funds to help migrating wildlife
Federal officials on Tuesday announced an expansion to a program that uses Farm Bill funding to help farmers and ranchers preserve big-game migration corridors on private land. The announcement was made in Boise at a Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies conference.
The program, called Migratory Big Game: A Framework for Conservation Action, began in 2020 with a focus on several Great Plains states. The program later expanded west to include sagebrush habitat, including parts of Idaho in 2023. The newest expansion includes the entirety of 17 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The conservation program allows farmers and ranchers to apply for funds to implement “wildlife-friendly practices,” according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The money comes from programs funded through the Farm Bill, a piece of federal legislation passed every few years that addresses agriculture policy, and funds food and agriculture producer support programs, among many other things.
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service spent $146.7 million to help ranchers implement conservation program projects on more than 1.2 million acres of working land between 2022 and 2025, according to spokesperson Justin Fritscher.
Richard Fordyce, USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that the program is the first to prioritize the migration routes of species like elk, pronghorn and mule deer alongside agriculture needs.
“We know that migratory big game rely on large and connected landscapes to meet their daily, seasonal and annual needs,” Fordyce added in the USDA news release. “This new Framework for Conservation Action helps us better target our resources and align our efforts, which benefit wildlife as well as ranching operations.”
The program focuses on three strategies: protecting habitat and connectivity, reducing barriers to movement and improving habitat quality. That can include removing fencing or updating fencing; securing land easements; replacing invasive grasses with native species; and improving forest health. According to a USDA report on the program, those efforts can also reduce wildfire risk and improve soil and water quality.
Officials said one goal with this year’s framework includes incorporating the program into locally led conservation actions by working with state fish and wildlife agencies like the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
“They’re the ones that have the expertise related to the migration of big game, and so being able to work with them and understand what those patterns look like, I think is certainly important,” Fordyce told the Statesman.
Idaho fish and game officials have for years used GPS collars and cameras to track where elk and deer migrate, and U.S. Geological Survey data shows herds across the state can regularly travel hundreds of miles. Data highlighted in the conservation framework report show one pronghorn herd in the Shotgun Valley north of Idaho Falls migrates primarily across private land.
It’s unclear what state agencies’ roles will look like. A spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game did not respond to a request for comment.
