January 12, 2008 Outdoor Column

In business the three key words are, "Location, location, location." In sustaining viable wildlife populations all the ingredients can be boiled down to one word: Habitat.

Webster's Dictionary defines habitat as "The type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs."

Any wildlife biologist worth his waders will label food, water, shelter, and adequate space as the four critical keys to thriving wildlife populations. Now, take away three of those crucial components (food, shelter, adequate space) to begin to get a feel for the impending threat to wildlife that depend on Conservation Reserve Program grassland ecosystems for their very survival.

Ducks Unlimited waterfowl biologist Mike Checkett blogged recently about the new energy bill's impact on the Conservation Reserve Program and the wildlife that call those ecosystems home.

According to the Ducks Unlimited website, the Conservation Reserve Program was born via the 1985 Farm Bill with the mission of paying agricultural producers to retire marginal cropland from production for 10 years. Habitat created to provide cover for upland species also would significantly contribute to nesting cover for prairie nesting species of waterfowl like mallards and pintails.

Since 1985, literally millions of acres of erodible farmland have been converted to native grass prairies, field borders, and riparian buffers to provide critical wildlife habitat while, at the same time, preventing soil erosion. Both game and non-game species benefited from this significant boost to available habitat.

Fast forward to January 2008, when many early Conservation Reserve Program contracts are eligible for expiration. Biologist Checkett reports Federal figures show North Dakota alone converted 420,000 acres of Conservation Reserve Program habitat back into tillable farmland in 2007.

Checkett also reports that South Dakota has lost 214,314 acres (14.3 percent) of Conservation Reserve Program land since Sept. 30, 2007. Montana lost more than 159,000 acres since that date.

Why?

Most of the aforementioned reductions in Conservation Reserve Program acres can be attributed to increasing prices in the commodities market. Currently, this market is surging ahead due to increased demand for corn and oilseeds to be used in the production of biofuels.

Now, therein lies a whale, or, in this case, a bison of a dilemma. Turn on the television to any channel and one can view many commercials promoting the latest biofuel-powered vehicle or other bio-based products. Personally, I can pump E-85 Ethanol into my Ford Ranger and feel pretty good about not burning fossil fuels and contributing to the raging petroleum industry? or can I?

As a wildlife biologist, where does my allegiance lie? Do I burn corn-based ethanol to save fossil fuels while knowing that Conservation Reserve Program acres may be tilled to do so? Do I fill up with petroleum-based unleaded before driving to a 20 year-old Conservation Reserve Program field to protest the plow cutting into the native switchgrass and big bluestem?

The column inches provided by this outdoor page are not nearly sufficient to begin this debate. All I hope is that it serves a springboard to further investigation of other credible resources.

I encourage followers of At Woods Edge to visit www.ducks.org and click on "Biologist Blog" for a good jumping-off point on the current and future of the Conservation Reserve Program.

I'm writing this column while looking at a piece of antique barn wood hanging on the wall at Woods Edge that is inscribed with the words, "Home is Where Your Story Begins." Habitat is the "home" of wildlife. I hope our future generations have a story with a happy ending.