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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 provides ECP coverage for the replacement, repair, or restoration of farmland or conservation structures requiring an immediate response. Producers may receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for 75% of the cost of the replacement and 50% of the cost of the repair or restoration. Current law limits advanced cost-sharing payments to 25% of the cost of the repair or replacement of fencing.
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. Currently, advanced payments are not available under the program.
ECP and EFRP recipients must use the funds within 180 days after the funds are disbursed. This provides additional time to ECP recipients who currently must use the funds within 60 days.
The bill also expands eligibility for payments under the programs to include emergency measures to address damages caused by (1) a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes; and (2) a wildfire that is caused by the federal government.
Latest available text
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the "Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025".
2. Improving the 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;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting "or for other emergency measures to replace or restore farmland or conservation structures requiring an immediate response (as determined by the Secretary)," after "replacement of fencing,"; and
(ii) by striking "option of receiving" and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: option of receiving, before the agricultural producer carries out the repair, replacement, or restoration—
(A) with respect to a payment to the agricultural producer for a replacement, 75 percent of the cost of the replacement, as determined by the Secretary; and
(B) with respect to a payment to the agricultural producer for a repair or restoration, 50 percent of the cost of the repair or restoration, as determined by the Secretary.
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking "60-day" and inserting "180-day"; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
(c) Wildfire determination - A wildfire that causes damage eligible for a payment under subsection (a) includes—
(1) a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes; and
(2) a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government.
3. Improving the Emergency Forest Restoration Program
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking "wildfires," and inserting "wildfires (including a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes, and a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government),";
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(3) 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.
(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.
Passed the Senate March 24, 2026.Secretary