Ecosystem Services and the Farm Bill

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 takes a first step towards facilitating landowner participation in emerging markets for ecosystem services. Section 2709 of the conservation title requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other agencies and interests, to "establish technical guidelines that measure the environmental services benefits from conservation and land management activities." These guidelines will be used in the development of measurement and reporting protocols and registries. Section 2709 also calls for a verification process and guidelines for reported conservation and land management activities.

Section 2709: Environmental Services Markets ( PDF, 17 KB)

2007 Farm Bill Theme Paper on Conservation and the Environment ( PDF, 0.7 MB) and Executive Summary ( PDF, 144 KB)

More about the Farm Bill »

New! Environmental Services Board and USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets

To implement Section 2709 of the Farm Bill, a federal government-wide Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board was established on December 5, 2008. The purpose of the Environmental Services Board is to assist the Secretary of Agriculture in adopting the technical guidelines that the Federal Government will use to assess ecosystem services provided by conservation and land management activities. The Board's guidelines will focus on scientifically rigorous and economically sound methods for quantifying carbon, air and water quality, wetlands, and endangered species benefits in an effort to facilitate the participation of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in emerging ecosystem markets.

Environmental Services Board members include the Secretaries of the Interior, Energy, Commerce, Transportation; the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works; the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors; the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health. The Secretary of Agriculture is chair of the Board; the Chairman of Council on Environmental Quality and the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, are vice-chairs.

Nominations will be sought in the near future for a federally chartered public advisory committee to advise the Board. The advisory committee will include forest landowners, ranchers, farmers, Tribal representatives, and representatives from State natural resource and environmental agencies, agriculture departments, and conservation organizations.

To learn more, read the Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board Charter ( PDF, 258 KB).

A new Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM) will be established in the Office of the Secretary, USDA, to provide administrative and technical assistance to the Secretary in implementing Section 2709 of the Farm Bill. Sally Collins will be named the Director of OESM, after serving as Associate Chief of the Forest Service for the past eight years.

USDA News Release (December 18, 2008)

USDA Secretary's Memorandum 1056-001: Establishment of the Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets ( PDF, 20 KB)