CRP and Game Birds

CRP and Game Birds

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
We all know about the importance of CRP land for conservation and for wildlife habitat. Let us talk about wildlife as in birds or even more specifically, game birds. I recently talked with the Executive Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory and he had some fascinating observations. He called birds in general, including game birds, a "canary in the mine shaft" in terms of the environment. "NRCS and through the Farm Bill there are all sorts of incentives to do conservation on private land, many of which, because it is the Farm Bill are for farmers to do that. A recent 2013 report looked at opportunities for conservation on private land. The way that we use land to grow our food has significant impact on birds. Because of conversion of grassland to agriculture, grasslands are the most endangered ecosystems in America. The conservation reserve program and other initiatives pay farmers to keep areas with aeriable soils and sensitive habitat out of production. Farmer participation in this successful program varies. In 2008, for example, farmer involvement was affected by high commodity prices for corn and other grains. This in turn was caused by growing demand for food and biofuels. In the future, millions of program makers will expire and will not be renewed putting vital grassland habitat in jeopardy. So this identifies some challenges with the grassland reserve program.
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