Farm Bill 2002: A discussion of the conservation aspects of the Farm Bill from a fisheries perspective

During the spring of 2001, AFS asked members to work on an analysis of the new Farm Bill. David Thomas, chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey, volunteered to chair a committee and a fast-track schedule was established. The mission of the group was to prepare a document suitable for a column i n Fisheries that briefly summarized the bill, the implications to fisheries , and perceived deficiencies. The group used as a starting point an earlier AFS document on "Aquatic Habitat Conservation, Recommendations for the 199 5 Farm Bill" based on Pajak et al. 1994. A draft document was presented to the Fisheries Administrators Section at the AFS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Review comments were provided by AFS administrators as well as out side reviewers. This document represents a consensus of opinions from a bro ad cross-section of AFS members but is not a formal position paper of the S ociety.