Senate has opportunity to cut off the bleeding of America’s Duck Factory
BISMARCK, N.D., Dec. 13, 2007 - More evidence is surfacing this week that nesting ducks will find it harder to find a room at the inn next spring. Additional U.S. Department of Agriculture data released this week shows that more than 50,000 acres of native grass in the nation’s primary nesting ground have been destroyed this year.
South Dakota USDA Farm Service Agency released its 2007 grassland conversion data this week. Combined with information from North Dakota and Montana, FSA statistics show that almost 380,000 acres of grass were converted to cropland in the Prairie Pothole Region during the last five years.
“We keep getting more proof that America’s remaining native prairie is being plowed under,” said Dr. Scott Stephens, director of conservation planning for Ducks Unlimited’s Great Plains office. “Fortunately, the U.S. Senate has a great opportunity to eliminate the use of American taxpayer dollars fueling this destruction with the farm bill now being debated.”
Ducks Unlimited is urging Congress to support a Sodsaver provision in the farm bill that would remove incentives such as crop insurance and disaster payments from all newly converted grassland with no previous cropping history.
Senators from Prairie Pothole Region states have expressed support for Sodsaver. South Dakota Sen. John Thune provided testimony on the Senate floor this week. South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson and North Dakota Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad have previously indicated their support for removing incentives for continued conversion of grassland.
“We now need the help of our Prairie Pothole Region Senators to advocate for Sodsaver to their Senate colleagues,” said Scott McLeod, DU farm bill specialist. “Without a Sodsaver provision, grassland conversion will continue unabated and grassland-dependant wildlife will suffer permanent damage, sending ripple effects across the country that will be felt the hardest in small towns relying on sportsmen for the $76 billion dollars they spend annually.”
The Prairie Pothole Region includes the eastern Dakotas as well as portions of Montana, Minnesota and Iowa. Abundant with wetlands and grassland, the region is widely known as North America’s “duck factory.” Most ducks nest in grass so a significant loss of grass can mean less ducks produced in the spring.
Ducks Unlimited asks people who care about waterfowl to call their Senators today and ask them to show their leadership for the Duck Factory. If not, waterfowl hunting as we know it might change forever.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with more than 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.
For more information on Ducks Unlimited’s Farm Bill priorities:
http://www.ducks.org/farmbill/
Media contact:
Becky Jones Mahlum
701.355.3507
bjonesmahlum@ducks.org