Delta Waterfowl and Partners Push for Crucial Farm Bill Program to Expand Hunting Access

The Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act aims to increase public access to private lands, supporting both hunting opportunities and wildlife habitat improvement

Delta Waterfowl, in partnership with key conservation partners, is applauding the introduction of the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025. This important legislation seeks to strengthen the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) by tripling its previous funding, ultimately unlocking more private lands for public hunting and outdoor recreation in partnership with willing landowners.

Introduced recently in both the Senate and House, this bill builds on recent momentum for VPA-HIP efforts in the last Congress’s work on the Farm Bill. The House bill introduced last year similarly increased the funding for VPA-HIP to $150 million. The bipartisan nature of support for VPA-HIP demonstrates the fundamental value of the program to hunting and conservation.

“We greatly appreciate Senators Daines, Bennet, and Marshall, as well as Representatives Dingell and Johnson, for the VPA Improvement Act,” said John Devney, chief policy officer at Delta Waterfowl. “As we entered discussions about the 2023 Farm Bill, extending and expanding VPA-HIP was one of Delta’s top priorities. With duck hunters across the country seeking more access, increased investment in VPA-HIP could foster new partnerships with private landowners to improve habitat and create more hunting opportunities. We hope the leadership shown by these lawmakers will spark a broader bipartisan effort to expand VPA-HIP in the final Farm Bill.”

Since its establishment in the 2008, 2014, and 2018 Farm Bills, VPA-HIP has been a key tool for increasing public access to private lands. The program provides funding to state and tribal governments, which use it to incentivize landowners to allow public access for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent activities.

For waterfowlers in particular, “walk-in programs” have been notable successes in states like Arkansas, Kansas, and North Dakota, where new public access opportunities for waterfowl hunting have been created by offering landowners win-win incentives.

Delta Waterfowl is The Duck Hunters Organization, a leading conservation group working to produce ducks and secure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America. Visit deltawaterfowl.org.

For more information on Delta’s advocacy regarding hunter access and opportunity, contact John Devney at jdevney@deltawaterfowl.org.