Promote Conservation on Private Lands

What We Do

Keeping Arkansas Wild

Promote Conservation on Private Lands

With roughly 90% of land in Arkansas in private ownership, AWF advocates for incentives and assistance programs for farmers, ranchers, forest owners, and other private landowners to implement conservation practices that benefit native wildlife.

arkansas farm bill

Farm Bill

The Farm Bill is a major package of federal legislation—covering agriculture, nutrition, forestry, and conservation—that Congress passes every five years to set national policy and funding levels. Each renewal reauthorizes and updates the Farm Bill’s conservation title, which funds the voluntary programs that help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners implement habitat-friendly and resource-conserving practices on private lands.

Farm Bill conservation programs represent major financial investment in Arkansas’s landscapes, wildlife habitat, and rural communities. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) commits over $900 million in direct financial assistance contracts with Arkansas farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners, plus over $1 million in public–private conservation partnerships. That’s more than $1 billion invested in on-the-ground conservation projects across the state—funds that support habitat restoration, soil health practices, wetland protection, and sustainable forestry.

Because these programs are voluntary, flexible, and producer-driven, they are uniquely positioned to scale habitat restoration across millions of acres while keeping land in productive use—an approach widely supported by farmers, ranchers, and conservation groups alike. As demand for these programs far exceeds available funding, strengthening the conservation title in each Farm Bill cycle is essential to meet the needs of landowners who want to improve wildlife habitat, enhance soil health, protect water resources, and address climate-driven stressors.

Natural Resources Conservation Service

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) primary agency for conservation on private lands. By design, NRCS focuses on non-federal lands—where the overwhelming majority of Arkansas’ wildlife habitat exists—providing resource assessments, conservation planning, and technical standards that guide how conservation practices are implemented statewide.

Because NRCS sets the technical direction for major Farm Bill conservation programs, the State Technical Committee plays a critical advisory role in shaping how these programs operate in Arkansas. 

AWF prioritizes our involvement on the State Technical Committee (and the Wildlife and Forestry subcommittees) because it is one of the most effective avenues to speak for wildlife in how conservation dollars and practices are deployed across Arkansas’ largely private-land landscape.