Campaign Promises

Departments -> Agriculture -> Land Use
Item	Agriculture
Land Use		Grade
AG-13	The Promise: "Will support the Open Fields Incentives legislation that provides incentives to farmers and ranchers who voluntarily open their land to hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related activities." When/Where: Obama-Biden Plan: "Supporting the Rights and Traditions of Sportsmen" dated 08/06/08. Source: https://www.kentuckyhunting.net/threads/obama-sportsmen-issues.61174/ Status:The Open Fields Initiative was introduced in 2005 by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND). It found its way into the Farm Bill of 2008, with funding projected at $50M in financial support for voluntary, state-run access programs that provide incentives to private landowners to allow public access to their land for hunting and fishing purposes. This program was in effect and grant money was available from the Department of Agriculture to fund state efforts to develop incentive-based programs that expanded public access to private lands for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes. While funding in the amount of $16.67M per year over the three years was reflected in President Obama's FY2010 budget proposal, the "Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program" (VPA-HIP) under which the Open Fields Incentives fell was completely defunded by Congress in the final FY2012 budget. There were no provision for Open Field Incentives in the Farm Bill of 2008 replacement legislation, the "Agricultural Act of 2014" (H.R. 2642) signed into law by President Obama on 02/07/14. This promise was not fulfilled.	0.00