Partnering on the Prairies

The PPR, also known as the duck factory, is one of DU’s top conservation  priorities. In the north-central United States, DU has been extremely active in working with private ranchers and farmers through its Grasslands for Tomorrow initiative and Farm Bill conservation programs, particularly CRP.

Large grassland and wetland complexes are key ingredients for duck production in the PPR. Prairie wetlands attract ducks in the spring and later provide brood habitat, while surrounding native grasslands and CRP lands afford crucial nesting cover. These same habitats are also essential for cattle production and form the backbone of the region’s ranching industry. Accordingly, DU partners with the USFWS and ranchers to permanently protect native grassland and wetland complexes with perpetual easements. This classic partnership not only helps sustain the ranching lifestyle but also conserves our nation’s best waterfowl breeding habitat. Since 1998, DU and USFWS have worked with nearly 1,960 ranchers and private landowners to secure more than 730,000 acres of grasslands and wetland complexes. Despite rising commodity prices, interest in the program remains strong, with more than 900 ranchers and private landowners currently waiting to protect their pieces of prairie heaven.

DU has also worked extensively with landowners in North Dakota and South Dakota to restore grasslands and wetlands through CRP. There are 4.2 million acres of CRP land in the Dakotas, 79 percent of which is in the PPR. The importance of CRP to nesting waterfowl cannot be overemphasized. USFWS estimates that CRP in the prairies is responsible for adding 2 million ducks to the fall flight each year. CRP is another prime example of a mutually beneficial program for ducks and prairie landowners. Besides providing abundant nesting cover for ducks and pheasants, CRP offers farmers a stable income source on former cropland that was generally unproductive. CRP grasslands also provide ranchers an emergency forage source during severe droughts and help sustain the ranching industry during these difficult times.

Jim Faulstich, who raises cattle on an 8,000-acre family ranch in the Missouri Coteau of central South Dakota, understands the value of CRP to his operation and wildlife. Faulstich strongly advocates the concept of holistic management on his ranch and says that CRP fits well with this approach.

“We have only about 160 acres enrolled in CRP, but these acres were not productive cropland and now provide a critical forage source, or grass bank, to help sustain my cattle herds during a drought,” Faulstich said.

He also recognizes the importance of well-managed and diverse grasslands to prairie wildlife populations. “Wildlife is a true barometer for how well I am managing my entire ranching operation,” he explains. “Wildlife populations tell me whether I am doing a good job of managing my cattle operation or whether I need to make some adjustments. CRP grasslands are different from my native pastures and help me provide a diversity of habitats that balance the needs of wildlife, particularly ducks and pheasants, on my ranch.”

Agricultural Innovation in Canada

In Canada, DU has a long history of working with farmers, ranchers, and other landowners to conserve waterfowl breeding and staging habitat. As in the United States, DU in Canada has increasingly turned its attention to influencing land-use policies on a large scale. DU began talking with Canada’s parliament in earnest about environmentally friendly agricultural policies in the late 1990s and presently is one of the few conservation organizations to have an official advisory role in developing Growing Forward, which established the policy vision that will serve as the underpinning for  the successor to the current Agricultural Policy Framework, the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Farm Bill. One promising initiative is Greencover Canada, which encourages farmers to convert cultivated land to pasture or forage. The program is projected to meet its initial goal of converting 650,000 acres to perennial cover, and DU has asked the Canadian government to expand the program by 2 million acres in the future. The expanded program is increasingly important given high commodity prices that could slow unaided conversion of annual cropland to perennial cover on the Canadian landscape. DU is also working with policymakers to compensate landowners who already conserve wetlands and other native habitats through voluntary long-term agreements and to expand incentives to restore wetlands on working farms and ranches. All these efforts are part of DU’s ultimate goal of entrenching environmental stewardship in Canadian agricultural policy, which would result in extensive, long-term habitat gains for breeding waterfowl, especially in the Prairie Pothole Region.