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Summary Provided by Congressional Research Service
Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
This bill revises the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to expand eligibility for payments to agricultural producers and owners of forest land impacted by natural disasters. The bill also provides additional options to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments before carrying out emergency measures.
The bill expands advance ECP payments to include payments for the rehabilitation of farmland or to repair or replace a farmland or conservation structure. Producers may receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for 75% of the cost of the replacement or rehabilitation and 50% of the cost of the repair. Current law limits advanced cost-sharing payments to 25% of the cost of the repair or replacement of fencing.
The bill also expands eligibility for payments under ECP to include emergency measures to address damages caused by a wildfire that is not caused naturally (including a wildfire that is caused by the federal government), if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes.
Under EFRP, the bill allows owners of nonindustrial private forest land impacted by a natural disaster to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for up to 75% of the cost of the emergency measures. Recipients must use the funds within 180 days after the funds are disbursed. Currently, advance payments are not available under the program.
Latest available text
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the "Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025".
2. Emergency conservation program
Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting and other emergency conservation measures after fencing; and
(B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
(1) In general - With respect to a payment to an agricultural producer under subsection (a) for the repair or replacement of fencing, or for other emergency measures to rehabilitate farmland or to repair or replace a farmland or conservation structure, the Secretary shall give the agricultural producer the option of receiving—
(A) before carrying out such replacement or rehabilitation, not more than 75 percent of the payment for such replacement or rehabilitation, which shall be based on the fair market value of the replacement or rehabilitation, as determined by the Secretary; and
(B) before carrying out such repair, not more than 50 percent of the payment for such repair, which shall be based on the fair market value of the repair, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(c) Wildfires - A wildfire that causes damage with respect to which a payment may be made under subsection (a) includes any wildfire that is not caused naturally, including a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government, if the damage is caused by the spread of the fire due to natural causes.
3. Improving the emergency forest restoration program
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
(e) Advance payments -
(1) In general - The Secretary shall give an owner of nonindustrial private forest land the option of receiving, before the owner carries out emergency measures under this section, not more than 75 percent of the cost of the emergency measures, as determined by the Secretary based on the fair market value of the cost of the emergency measures using the estimated cost of the applicable practice published in the Field Office Technical Guide of each State by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
(2) Return of funds - If the funds provided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on which the owner of nonindustrial private forest land receives those funds, the funds shall be returned within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the Secretary.