In response to an earlier message about Sierra Club needing to be a positive
force, not just against actions of others, I want to point out that Sierra
Club was part of a large number of conservation groups joined in the effort
to urge Gov. Culver to take action.
Jane Clark
This is the list of organizations that sent a letter to Gov. Culver about
protecting Iowa prairies:
American Prairie Foundation
Audubon Society
Center for Rural Affairs
Conservation Districts of Iowa
Delta Waterfowl
Ducks Unlimited
Iowa Cattlemen's Association
Iowa Environmental Council
Iowa Farmers Union
Iowa Wildlife Federation
Izaak Walton League of America
Izaak Walton League - Iowa Division
Izaak Walton League - Mahaska County
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
National Wildlife Federation
The Nature Conservancy
Pheasants Forever
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Quail Forever
Quail Unlimited
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Restoration Effort (DARE)
Waterfowl Association of Iowa
World Wildlife Fund
And this is a recent news release from Ducks Unlimited:
http://www.ducks.org/news/1769/Sodsaverrepresentsmi.html
Sodsaver represents missed opportunity to save tax dollars, protect native
prairie
Washington, D.C. - Feb. 16, 2009 - This past weekend symbolized a missed
opportunity for waterfowl, wildlife and taxpayers when the deadline to opt
in to Sodsaver passed. Governors of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana,
Minnesota and Iowa declined to participate in the provision of the 2008 Farm
Bill, which would remove incentives to cultivate native prairie.
"Native prairie is one of our most fragile ecosystems, and we need to ensure
that it is not lost forever," said Don Young, executive vice president of
Ducks Unlimited. "While we are disappointed that this opportunity to promote
healthy land stewardship has passed, we are hopeful that this can be the
beginning of a new discussion about protecting our last remaining native
prairie habitats."
Ducks Unlimited biologists have estimated that more than 3.3 million acres
of native prairie could be lost during the next five years without
Sodsaver - the equivalent of 15 percent of the remaining 22 million acres.
Native prairie conversions will ultimately reduce fall waterfowl migrations
across North America.
The economic ripple effect of losing native prairie is in the hundreds of
millions of dollars. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office
estimates that losing native prairie will cost taxpayers more than $119
million. In addition, with the decrease in ducks from the migration, part of
the $1.3 billion that migratory bird hunters contribute to rural economies
across the nation will be lost.
Most of the remaining large tracts of native prairie in the United States
are found in the five states involved in the Sodsaver provision, in a region
full of glacially formed shallow ponds called "prairie potholes." The lands
around these ponds are generally arid and rocky, and are very well suited to
grazing livestock versus row crops like corn or wheat.
While the land is relatively poor for intensive agricultural production, it
is ideally suited for nesting and breeding waterfowl. Millions of ducks are
reared in the Prairie Pothole Region, and migrate to places like the
Chesapeake Bay, Louisiana Coast and California's Central Valley.
"Bringing these marginal croplands into production is wasteful and damaging
to important natural resources," said Dr. Scott Stephens, director of
conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited. "These areas are prone to
disasters like droughts, and allowing crop subsidies on broken prairie
creates a burden on taxpayers."
Ducks Unlimited and many other groups strongly supported a Sodsaver program
that was national in scope during the debate of the 2008 Farm Bill. While
grassland conversion is a nationwide problem and nationwide proposals were
considered, the final provision was limited to the Prairie Pothole portion
of the five states.
"While the door has closed on this opportunity to protect the prairies, we
are working with members of Congress and the Administration to come up with
solutions that will ensure the prairies are not lost," said Young. "These
habitats represent some of the most productive waterfowl breeding areas in
North America and we will continue to work to secure their long-term
existence."
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 important to waterfowl each
year.
Neil Shader
[log in to unmask]
202.347.1530
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