spaightlabs
02-26-2007, 11:11 AM
I borrowed this text from Don Young, DU's president...I hope you'll take the time to read it and act upon it...
The U.S. has a total land area of 2.3 billion acres of which more than half of the land is used for agriculture. Given that the Farm Bill is the legislative tool that addresses this nation's agriculture, DU is naturally interested in its direction and content in terms of its impact on DU's ability to conserve rural landscapes. Indeed, one of DU's top three organizational objectives for 2006/2007 states that we'll work to "Optimize waterfowl, other wildlife habitat, and wetlands benefits in the Farm Bill." Unfortunately, one of the highest profile Farm Bill programs of importance to waterfowl, the Conservation Reserve Program, is facing a serious threat. The CRP program has been vital to conserving waterfowl breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Dakotas, Iowa, Montana, and Minnesota by allowing farmers to convert marginal cropland into grasslands vital as nesting habitat in return for rental payments. Considering that a 1% loss of grasslands equates to 25,000 fewer ducks in the Fall Flight, this would devastate our hunting and duck numbers.
We are all critical to supporting public policy initiatives - we need to TAKE ACTION to help ensure a future for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Market forces such as growing demand for bio-fuels are driving up the cost of land and the payment rates for keeping land in CRP are not keeping pace. None of us expects many farmers to enroll in CRP when they will be paid well below comparable land values. Currently there are also discussions in Washington, D.C. to prevent new landowner enrollment into the program for two years. The effect of these two matters is that we'll see a serious drop in CRP acreage in vital duck nesting areas.
Please TAKE ACTION on behalf of waterfowl by sending a brief message to the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Agriculture, and to your Members of Congress to let them know your desire to change the elimination of CRP enrollments and fix uncompetitive rental rates.
It's very easy to do. Just click on the link below and click on the TAKE ACTION tab at the top of the page. E-mails are OK, phone calls better, and a personally customized message is best. We need to let them know that we support CRP!
Thank you for taking the timw to show that you care. Trust me, your letter and or phone call will make a difference and is worth the time it takes to do it.
Finally, please pass this on to every waterfowl and conservation enthusiast and waterfowl hunter you know! Ask your family to take action, too. The ducks are depending on us. Together we can continue to make a difference for the future of conservation, waterfowl populations and waterfowling.
Take Action! Visit this page:
http://capwiz.com/ducks/utr/1/OTAMGSGTUT/KFGPGSGTWD/1060453761
The U.S. has a total land area of 2.3 billion acres of which more than half of the land is used for agriculture. Given that the Farm Bill is the legislative tool that addresses this nation's agriculture, DU is naturally interested in its direction and content in terms of its impact on DU's ability to conserve rural landscapes. Indeed, one of DU's top three organizational objectives for 2006/2007 states that we'll work to "Optimize waterfowl, other wildlife habitat, and wetlands benefits in the Farm Bill." Unfortunately, one of the highest profile Farm Bill programs of importance to waterfowl, the Conservation Reserve Program, is facing a serious threat. The CRP program has been vital to conserving waterfowl breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Dakotas, Iowa, Montana, and Minnesota by allowing farmers to convert marginal cropland into grasslands vital as nesting habitat in return for rental payments. Considering that a 1% loss of grasslands equates to 25,000 fewer ducks in the Fall Flight, this would devastate our hunting and duck numbers.
We are all critical to supporting public policy initiatives - we need to TAKE ACTION to help ensure a future for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Market forces such as growing demand for bio-fuels are driving up the cost of land and the payment rates for keeping land in CRP are not keeping pace. None of us expects many farmers to enroll in CRP when they will be paid well below comparable land values. Currently there are also discussions in Washington, D.C. to prevent new landowner enrollment into the program for two years. The effect of these two matters is that we'll see a serious drop in CRP acreage in vital duck nesting areas.
Please TAKE ACTION on behalf of waterfowl by sending a brief message to the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Agriculture, and to your Members of Congress to let them know your desire to change the elimination of CRP enrollments and fix uncompetitive rental rates.
It's very easy to do. Just click on the link below and click on the TAKE ACTION tab at the top of the page. E-mails are OK, phone calls better, and a personally customized message is best. We need to let them know that we support CRP!
Thank you for taking the timw to show that you care. Trust me, your letter and or phone call will make a difference and is worth the time it takes to do it.
Finally, please pass this on to every waterfowl and conservation enthusiast and waterfowl hunter you know! Ask your family to take action, too. The ducks are depending on us. Together we can continue to make a difference for the future of conservation, waterfowl populations and waterfowling.
Take Action! Visit this page:
http://capwiz.com/ducks/utr/1/OTAMGSGTUT/KFGPGSGTWD/1060453761