Water plus grass equals ducks. <-------
Remember "The Perfect Storm," the movie about some New England fishermen who lost their lives in a storm of unprecedented ferocity? The name of the movie reflected a rare circumstance in which several weather events combined to create a monstrous effect. Since the movie, the term "perfect storm" has assumed a more generic meaning: the simultaneous occurrence of events which, taken individually, would be far less powerful than the result of their chance combination. Unfortunately, those of us who are passionate about waterfowl conservation are becoming concerned that prairie ducks may be facing a perfect storm of their own. And unlike the March blizzards and April showers that bode well for breeding duck habitat, this perfect storm spells trouble.
To brew a Perfect Storm for ducks, take million acres of expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, and add in record-high commodity prices, soaring land values, increased demand for biofuels like corn-based ethanol and non-competitive CRP rental rates. Mix in a livestock industry made less profitable by the high cost of finishing animals on grain. Then slowly add new crop varieties that are drought tolerant, "frost-proof", and able to boldly go where no crop has gone before… into the heart of the Missouri Coteau grasslands of the Prairie Pothole Region. Wait a few years, and observe the result: much more cropland, somewhat more ethanol and markedly fewer ducks (which will invariably lead to shorter duck seasons).
Unfortunately, we do not have to wait long to view the impact. Nearly 820,000 acres of CRP grassland disappeared in the Dakotas and Montana in 2007 alone. New US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency data show that nearly 5.6 million acres, or two-thirds of the current CRP in these states, will expire by October, 2012.
Native prairie is also disappearing at alarming rates. At the loss rates some areas are experiencing, half of the remaining native prairie will be gone in 34 years
"But wait… for those of us who prefer a different outcome, might I suggest an alternative recipe: voluntary easements that secure grasslands and wetlands in perpetuity, progressive public policies that level the economic playing field between crop and livestock producers, a tempered enthusiasm for starch based bio fuels, and a reality check of how land should best be used in the long term. "Perfect Storms" can sometimes be avoided."
What is your opinion to the articles content? :huh:
Remember "The Perfect Storm," the movie about some New England fishermen who lost their lives in a storm of unprecedented ferocity? The name of the movie reflected a rare circumstance in which several weather events combined to create a monstrous effect. Since the movie, the term "perfect storm" has assumed a more generic meaning: the simultaneous occurrence of events which, taken individually, would be far less powerful than the result of their chance combination. Unfortunately, those of us who are passionate about waterfowl conservation are becoming concerned that prairie ducks may be facing a perfect storm of their own. And unlike the March blizzards and April showers that bode well for breeding duck habitat, this perfect storm spells trouble.
To brew a Perfect Storm for ducks, take million acres of expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, and add in record-high commodity prices, soaring land values, increased demand for biofuels like corn-based ethanol and non-competitive CRP rental rates. Mix in a livestock industry made less profitable by the high cost of finishing animals on grain. Then slowly add new crop varieties that are drought tolerant, "frost-proof", and able to boldly go where no crop has gone before… into the heart of the Missouri Coteau grasslands of the Prairie Pothole Region. Wait a few years, and observe the result: much more cropland, somewhat more ethanol and markedly fewer ducks (which will invariably lead to shorter duck seasons).
Unfortunately, we do not have to wait long to view the impact. Nearly 820,000 acres of CRP grassland disappeared in the Dakotas and Montana in 2007 alone. New US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency data show that nearly 5.6 million acres, or two-thirds of the current CRP in these states, will expire by October, 2012.
Native prairie is also disappearing at alarming rates. At the loss rates some areas are experiencing, half of the remaining native prairie will be gone in 34 years
"But wait… for those of us who prefer a different outcome, might I suggest an alternative recipe: voluntary easements that secure grasslands and wetlands in perpetuity, progressive public policies that level the economic playing field between crop and livestock producers, a tempered enthusiasm for starch based bio fuels, and a reality check of how land should best be used in the long term. "Perfect Storms" can sometimes be avoided."
What is your opinion to the articles content? :huh:
