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The calendar may now say 2008, but the 2007 Farm Bill being debated in Washington, DC is still unresolved. With recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showing that the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the nation's largest private lands conservation program, lost more than 2.5 million acres to contract expirations last fall, there is no more important time than now to ensure conservation programs in the Farm Bill receive adequate funding to keep them strong and competitive against today's high demands on America's dwindling resources.
The Conservation Title of the Farm Bill represents the single largest federal investment in conservation on private land - and CRP is the flagship program, providing incredible contributions to improved soil and water quality, habitat for waterfowl, upland birds, wild turkeys and other wildlife. In the Prairie Pothole region alone, CRP is credited with helping produce 13.5 million pheasants each year, as well as supporting 2.2 million ducks per year.
CRP and other conservation efforts are now facing a stiff challenge from the more profitable rates of corn, wheat and other land uses. Some farmers are opting to let their conservation contracts expire and put-under-plow land that is usually of marginal agriculture value but does serve as valuable wildlife habitat. The Prairie Pothole region in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana was hit the hardest at the end of 2007 where over 900,000 acres of CRP grassland acres were converted in just those three states. Click here to see a chart of the number of acres affected in all fifty states.
This example illustrates the need to make conservation a greater national priority. The Farm Bill is a perfect opportunity to make sure the gains and momentum made in conservation continues. Now that conference committee deliberations are underway to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, we urge you to write your legislators and ask that they work to ensure a strong Conservation Title that benefits fish and wildlife in the Farm Bill.
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