Fewer 'Prairie Potholes' Raises Concerns
Posted on: Tuesday, 13 November 2007, 15:00 CST
Environment officials said they are alarmed at the disappearance of ponds, wetland and small lakes dotting Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas.
The so-called prairie potholes are habitats for about 200 species of migratory birds, officials said. But farmers are ending land-preservation agreements because of federal incentives to plant more crops and the financial rewards of renting the land, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been investigating whether the areas were being drained illegally. At stake is arguably the most endangered ecosystem in the world, said Rex Johnson, a wetlands expert and wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About 420,000 prairie potholes remain in Minnesota and 2 million in the Dakotas to store and purify water that otherwise would overload rivers.
Farmers signed 10- to 15-year conservation agreements in the 1990s to set aside grasslands and prairie potholes for wildlife habitat, Johnson said, but many farmers are converting land to crops as soon as contracts expire. While conservation programs pay to set aside the land for wildlife, commodity programs encourage farmers to use as much cropland as possible, offering disaster payments, crop insurance and other subsidies.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- 18,000 Acres Added to Wildlife Refuge
- Power Agencies From Five States Participate in $2.9 Billion 1,600 MW Prairie State Energy Campus Coal Project, an Industrial Info News Alert
- Ideal Growing Conditions Give Way to Heat and Drought Across the Prairies
- Farmers Put Stock in Soybeans, Corn: Planters Ambitious With Crop Storage High
- Fish, Wildlife Plans Controlled Burns: Region: Controlled Burns Planned
- Vulnerability of Northern Prairie Wetlands to Climate Change
- Minnesota, Wisconsin Could See Bumper Harvests If Rain Continues
- Canada About to Declare First Bowhead Whale Sanctuary: Wildlife Official
- Bush Administration Creates New Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds