Ducks Unlimited applauds efforts to protect the “duck factory”
WASHINGTON, November 8, 2007 – In a statement released earlier this week, the Administration spelled out its concerns regarding the Senate’s version of the 2007 Farm Bill. The statement specifically outlines the Administration’s desire for the inclusion of a strong “sodsaver” provision. Ducks Unlimited continues to be a proponent of sodsaver in the Farm Bill.
“More than 70 percent of the nation’s original native prairie has been lost,” said Ducks Unlimited’s Executive Vice President Don Young in a recent opinion-editorial article. “Compared to 2006, the latest USDA figures show a 40 percent jump this year in the conversion of native grasslands into cropland.”
The native grasslands of the northern Great Plains provide important waterfowl nesting and breeding habitat. This area is often referred to as the “duck factory,” but also supports many other species of grassland- and wetland-dependent wildlife.
Sodsaver is designed to remove government incentives for conversion of native grassland to cropland. The provision would discourage conversion of marginal soils in arid regions that are drought and disaster prone.
“We are pleased to see this level of leadership and dedication to conservation from the Administration,” said Ducks Unlimited’s Director of Agriculture Conservation Policy Barton James.
The Administration challenges the Senate in the statement, calling their sodsaver provision a “good start,” but saying it, “fails to meet the comprehensive protections provided by the Administration’s proposed ‘sod saver’ program.”
The statement encourages the Senate to protect native grasslands by pushing for permanent payment and loan ineligibility on converted acreage, as was proposed by the Administration.
“We look forward to the Senate’s attention to this issue as the Farm Bill is being debated,” said James. “We remain optimistic that a sufficient sodsaver provision will be passed by the Senate, and the final Farm Bill package will be approved by the Conference Committee.”
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.
Contact: Rachel Dawson, (202) 347-1530, rdawson@ducks.org
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