Sodsaver represents a missed opportunity to save taxdollars and protect native prairie.

Ducks Unlimited biologists have estimated that more than 3.3 million acres of native prairie could be lost during the next five years without Sodsaver – the equivalent of 15 percent of the remaining 22 million acres. These habitats represent some of the most productive waterfowl breeding areas in North America. Native prairie conversions will ultimately reduce fall waterfowl migrations across North America.

The economic ripple effect of losing native prairie is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office estimates that losing native prairie will cost taxpayers more than $119 million dollars. In addition, with the decrease in ducks from the migration, part of the $1.3 billion dollars that migratory bird hunters contribute to rural economies across the nation will be lost.

Most of the remaining large tracts of native prairie in the US are found in the five states involved in the Sodsaver provision, in a region full of glacially-formed shallow ponds called “prairie potholes.” The lands around these ponds are generally arid and rocky, and are very well suited to grazing livestock versus row crops like corn or wheat. These areas are prone to disasters like droughts, and allowing crop subsidies on broken prairie creates a burden on taxpayers.

While the land is relatively poor for intensive agricultural production, it is ideally suited for nesting and breeding waterfowl. Millions of ducks are reared in the Prairie Pothole Region, and migrate to places like the Chesapeake Bay, Louisiana Coast, and California’s Central Valley.

Native prairie represents some of the most productive waterfowl breeding areas in North America.

Ducks Unlimited and many other groups strongly supported a Sodsaver program that was national in scope during the debate of the 2008 Farm Bill. While grassland conversion is a nationwide problem and nationwide proposals were considered, the final provision was limited to the Prairie Pothole portion of the five states.

While the door has closed on this opportunity to protect the prairies, DU is working with members of Congress and the Administration to come up with solutions that will ensure that what’s left of the prairies are not lost.

These decisions remind us how all too important the current Rescue the Duck Factory Program, currently being undertaken by DU, is to the future of waterfowl and waterfowl hunting.

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