Zinke, Vasquez Team Up for Another Bipartisan Public Lands Bill 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke along with New Mexico Democrat Congressman Gabe Vasquez announced the introduction of the bipartisan Wildlife Corridors on Working Lands Act, a bill designed to amend the 2024 Farm Bill to direct the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide more resources and incentives for farmers and ranchers to increase habitat connectivity and wildlife movement on working lands. 

The Bill would:

• Add wildlife corridors and connectivity as a priority resource concern for critical conservation areas within the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. 
• Build on the Big Game Conservation Partnership in Wyoming.
• Expand landowners adoption of practices that directly impact habitat connectivity.
• Incentivization of virtual fencing models that can control livestock distribution. 
• Ramp up USDA research on virtual fencing. 
• Create a new section under “administrative requirements for conservation programs” encouraging wildlife migration corridors and connectivity. 

Read the full text of the bill here.  

“Some of our most iconic North American big game traverse thousands of miles on their migration routes every year. As Secretary I signed a secretarial order establishing a federal-state-private sector partnership to maintain wildlife access to corridors. This bill takes it a step further, working directly with farmers to protect migration corridors during migration seasons while respecting private property rights,” Rep. Zinke said. "​We all know that animals go where animals want to go, and more often than not, that's dependent​ ​upon natural features like water, terrain and vegetation,​ ​rather than whether land is owned by the BLM, state, or private landowners. Farmers and ranchers are some of the best conservationists I know. Few are more reliant on a healthy landscape than our producers and growers. I appreciate Congressman Vasquez working with me again to prove that some issues are above red or blue, and are just red, white and blue.” 

“Protecting and expanding wildlife corridors requires all of us to be at the table and that includes farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers. The bipartisan Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act protects and expands the movement of wildlife while supporting the stewards of our working lands. We must find balance where both can thrive, and my bill does just that,” said Vasquez. “I thank Senator Heinrich and Representative Zinke for joining me in introducing this bill that will benefit New Mexicans and Montanans and will spur the healthy movement and migration of wildlife across the West.”

“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.” Becky Humphries, CEO at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership said. “The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act removes unnecessary barriers to working lands stewardship. The TRCP thanks Senator Heinrich and Congressmen Zinke and Vasquez for their leadership on this bill and urges its inclusion in the Farm Bill.”

“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,” Kaden McArthur, Government Relations Manager, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers said. “We applaud Reps. Vasquez and Zinke 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.” 

“When wildlife can safely migrate across Montana and the nation’s landscapes, it’s good news for everyone,” Frank Szollosi, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation said. “This bipartisan solution is just common sense. Thank you to Representative Zinke and his colleagues for ensuring that voluntary Farm Bill conservation programs help farmers, ranchers, landowners, and wildlife thrive.”

"As stewards of working lands, ranchers and land managers commonly look for opportunities to improve habitat which is beneficial to wildlife and livestock,” Western Landowners Alliance said. “The Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act of 2024 creates opportunities for ranchers to enhance habitat and connectivity while improving their operation. The methods laid out in this Bill have proven to be highly successful in the pilot program.  It's a trifecta in the win column for wildlife, conservation and ranching."  

Background:

Congressman Zinke has been a leading voice on this issue since his time as Secretary of the Interior. In 2018 he signed Secretarial Order 3362 which directed the Department of the Interior to work in close partnership with western states to enhance and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on Federal lands in a way that recognizes state authority to conserve and manage big-game species and respects private property rights. States like Wyoming used this order and worked closely with Secretary Zinke to prioritize the conservation of a mule deer migration corridor in southwest Wyoming. 

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