BISMARCK, N.D. September 5, 2007 - Ducks Unlimited applauds the leadership shown by North Dakota U.S. Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan. Both expressed their support for protecting native prairie in the 2007 farm bill in a Bismarck Tribune article this week.
“We are pleased that both Senators Dorgan and Conrad are concerned about the loss of virgin prairie,” said Jeff Nelson, director of the Ducks Unlimited Great Plains Regional Office. “Having North Dakota’s Senators on record supporting meaningful protection for grassland resources and North Dakota ranching gives hope for a farm bill that will be both good for agriculture and conserving natural resources.”
According to Scott McLeod, DU’s farm bill lead in the Great Plains Regional Office, DU and many other conservation groups support a strong Sodsaver Amendment in the Farm Bill to prevent further loss of native grassland.
The Sodsaver Amendment will eliminate all federal payments for crops planted on land with no previous cropping history. Landowners could still farm native grasslands, but at their own risk without federal assistance. The House recently passed the farm bill, including their version of the Sodsaver Amendment. Ducks Unlimited hopes the Senate backs-up the House vote with even stronger measures when it drafts its version later this month.
“One of North Dakota’s natural treasures is disappearing and Congress has an opportunity to protect these grasslands in the 2007 farm bill,” McLeod said.
Recent USDA reports estimate that 125,000 acres of native grassland were converted to cropland from 2002 to 2006. That equates to 195 square miles or a one-mile wide strip from Bismarck to Fargo. South Dakota has lost 460 square miles during that same time.
“North Dakota’s agricultural producers need risk and disaster support on high quality farmland but the existing native grassland should be maintained for the ranchers, sportsmen and the people of North Dakota,” McLeod said.
“The Prairie Pothole Region annually produces nearly two out of every three ducks harvested in the rest of the country,” Nelson said. “If Sodsaver is not included in the 2007 farm bill, it could negatively affect the continent’s duck populations and hunting in the United States.”
For more information about Sodsaver go to: www.ducks.org/sodsaver
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.
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Look for Ducks Unlimited on the World Wide Web at www.ducks.org. Tune into “The World of Ducks Unlimited” Radio Network and watch “Ducks Unlimited Television” and “Ducks Unlimited WaterDog” on the Versus network.
Contact: Jennifer P. Kross
Office: 701-355-3515
Mobile: 701-202-8896
jkross@ducks.org
or
Scott McLeod
Office: 701-355-3500
smcleod@ducks.org