I too am pretty concerned about the CRP reductions. However, based on some work my spouse has been doing, there is a lot of CRP (at least what we are seeing) that that would never be farmed for much, often not even hay due to the steep terrain or exceptionally poor soils. Meanwhile, many parcels are very small and frankly unmanaged weedfields. They play a role in erosion reduction, but that is about it. The subclasses of CRP are very important to evaluate when addressing this issue. An acre of weeds is of little wildlife value except to insects, and many of those inhabitating it will be largely super tramps and tramps.
I am still pretty perturbed with the Farm Bill. Don't forget the house eliminated funding for food stamps, is that still in their? At first, that might not sound like it is relevant to ecology, but there is a lot more pressure to fish and hunt (and poach) when you have little to no food than when you have some food. I recall the depression was likely a signficant factor to the extirpation of white tailed deer in many areas going into the 1950s. Folks ate them, my grandfather lived on deer in Escanaba Mi from the time he was born until he left for the navy in WWII! Lots of people did, and it is largely unrecorded. This contribution to species impairment is assuredly ignored. What impact does a large population of unfed people have an wildlife populations? they really need to fund the food stamps and CRP among a lot of other things in the farm bill. Anyone not fed up with the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government? M On Sat, Jul 20, 2013 at 7:47 AM, Silvia Secchi <[email protected]> wrote: > I understand Wayne's frustration. However, to put things in perspective, > the Farm Bill that passed the senate substantially cut the funding for CRP > and capped it to 25 million acres (it was 32 million acres in the 2008 > bill, and 39 in the one before). The fact of the matter is that USDA is > moving towards funding more "working land" conservation. What is more, we > are already under the 32 million cap because farmers are reluctant to > re-enroll in the program with these high crop prices. > We need to understand that the "old" CRP program may not be viable in the > near future if no changes are made to accommodate for higher crop prices. > We may not like them either, but it looks like they are going to stay and > we need to live with that in the conservation community. > Switchgrass may not work for grouse habitat, but may be better than corn on > high slopes in other parts of the US. Some smarter targeting of funding and > programs will be necessary, and switchgrass is likely to be part of the mix. > > Silvia > > > On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 11:52 PM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > >> If I understand the purpose of Ecolog correctly, it is a place for >> announcements of matters of interest to ecologists and their >> fellow-travelers, and a place for informal discussion of such matters. The >> most basic unwritten rule that governs discourse in a forum of any kind is >> to be specifically responsive to the points made by fellow participants. >> Condescension in any form, direct or indirect, is considered by most to be >> unkind at best, but rude, really--"bad form," as some might say. >> >> I look forward to an open and honest discussion of the points made by the >> discussants. It should be pretty simple to clearly and concisely state the >> evidence for and against such hare-brained stunts as converting CRP lands >> to switchgrass monocultures. Similarly, those knowledgeable enough to >> foster conferences should be able to state the net energy yields of >> switchgrass plantations, a simple matter of an input/output calculation. >> >> I hope that these pivotal issues will not be evaded by those who have >> vested interests in, say, switchgrass culture. >> >> WT >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Raasch" <[email protected]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 9:59 AM >> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] ENERGY Biofuels and their questionable potential >> Re: [ECOLOG-L] Switchgrass Conference September 2013 >> >> >> Hello Wayne and David. >> >> Thank you for voicing your concerns and contributing to the discussion. It >> is important to look at the big picture and recognize the full impact of >> human activity on the landscape. >> >> Regarding the switchgrass conference, there will be a session devoted to >> environmental services and impacts. The first speaker for this will be G. >> Philip Robertson, Professor of Ecosystem Science, Michigan State >> University. >> >> There's also a two-day poster session and still room in the schedule for >> additional oral presentations. I hope people will take adavantage of the >> opportunity to present research covering their concerns. >> >> http://www.dfrc.wisc.edu/**switchgrass/<http://www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass/> >> >> John >> >> On Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:40:38 -0500, David L. McNeely <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> I did not see conservation listed as a discipline involved >>> >> in "Switchgrass II." There is a move afoot in Oklahoma and Kansas to >> convert Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, which have been >> succeeding toward something resembling a prairie in those states after >> having been inappropriately farmed, to switchgrass production. Some of >> these CRP lands are important Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat, a formerly >> hugely abundant grouse that has been seriously declining and is proposed >> as an endangered species. >> >>> >>> Farmers and ranchers, partly because of misinformation, partly because of >>> >> experience, distrust the endangered species program but work cooperatively >> with the CRP program -- mostly because it pays to do so, but the result is >> more habitat for chickens. >> >>> >>> If it is all converted to monoculture, where will the Lesser Prairie >>> >> Chickens go? >> >>> >>> David McNeely >>> >>> ---- Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Do I hear a "Giant Sucking Sound?" What is the evidence that >>>> >>> switchgrass can >> >>> produce more energy that it takes to get said energy to the point of >>>> >>> doing >> >>> work more efficiently than alternatives? What are the implications for >>>> >>> the >> >>> ecosystems that would be effectively destroyed by widespread planting of >>>> switchgrass? Upon what theoretical foundations is the whole concept >>>> >>> based, >> >>> including the "use" of "marginal" lands? Does anyone really think that >>>> marginal lands will not produce marginal amounts of energy? At what >>>> >>> cost in >> >>> dollars and degradation/destruction of ecosystems? >>>> >>>> WT >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "John Raasch" <[email protected]> >>>> To: <[email protected]> >>>> Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:11 AM >>>> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Switchgrass Conference September 2013 >>>> >>>> >>>> Announcing SWITCHGRASS II, taking place in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 10- >>>> >>> 12 >> >>> September 2013 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Registration, >>>> housing, and abstract submission information available at the following >>>> website: www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass. >>>> >>>> The conference will bring together scientists and students interested in >>>> switchgrass and other prairie grasses to discuss the state of the art of >>>> prairie grass research. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet and >>>> interact with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including >>>> agronomy, physiology, ecology, soil science, pathology, entomology, >>>> genetics, genomics, and molecular biology. The conference will include a >>>> field tour, several plenary presentations, selected volunteered oral >>>> presentations, a poster session, and a community workshop. >>>> >>>> Program Highlights: >>>> >>>> All-day tour of prairie/savanna and bioenergy research. >>>> Eight topical areas, each with one invited speaker. >>>> One-day poster session, organized according to the eight topical areas. >>>> >>>> A small group of abstracts from each topical area will be chosen, with >>>> >>> the >> >>> author's permission, for oral presentations. The committee will make >>>> >>> this >> >>> decision before the conference, so that authors have time to plan for an >>>> oral presentation. >>>> >>>> Abstract submission deadline: 11:59pm Friday 16 August (Central Daylight >>>> Time USA) >>>> >>>> Registration deadline: 1 September >>>> >>>> For more information contact [email protected] or [email protected]. >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- >>>> No virus found in this message. >>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >>>> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3199/5926 - Release Date: 06/20/13 >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> David McNeely >>> ==============================**==============================** >>> ============= >>> >> >> >> ----- >> No virus found in this message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3204/6003 - Release Date: 07/19/13 >> > > > > -- > Silvia Secchi > Assistant Professor, Energy and Environmental Policy, Department of > Agribusiness Economics > Co-Director, Environmental Resources & Policy Ph.D. Program > Agriculture Building - Mailcode 4410 > Southern Illinois University > 1205 Lincoln Drive > Carbondale, Illinois 62901 > Phone:(618)453-1714 > Fax: (618)453-1708 > > *Vous avez beau ne pas vous occuper de politique, la politique s'occupe de > vous tout de même.* > Charles Forbes de Montalembert > > *The way we organize the modern American university fragments our knowledge > badly. Not only are we divided by discipline, but we are divided by the > methods that scholars use. * > Elinor Ostrom -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Environmental Studies University of Illinois at Springfield Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! 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