BUFFER Act

The Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act modifies the eligibility rules for the Conservation Reserve Program to include specific types of land currently excluded. This change allows land that is subject to existing Tribal, State, or local environmental regulations to be enrolled in the program, provided those rules were not imposed by a court or administrative order. The bill directly affects farmers and landowners who wish to participate in federal conservation efforts while complying with local environmental laws. By removing the "or" and "as determined by the Secretary" restrictions, the legislation expands the scope of eligible land without altering the core purpose of the program.