Farmers and ranchers can help bring birds back from the brink

The 2014 State of the Birds report, released this week, sends a message that is both somber and hopeful: we can bring vulnerable bird species back from the brink of extinction, but there is a lot of work to be done. While some once-abundant species have rebounded in response to habitat restoration and management, others continue to decline. If we want to put our nation’s birds on a path to recovery, farmers and ranchers have a critical role to play. The State of the Birds report calls out the need for more large-scale habitat enhancement initiatives for birds in the most threatened ecosystems, such as western aridlands and grasslands, which face intense pressure from development and drought. The best hope for many birds in these ecosystems – species like the lesser prairie-chicken, greater sage-grouse and Swainson’s hawk in California’s Central Valley – lies in the region’s vast tracts of agricultural lands. In fact, with the right landowner incentives for habitat conservation in place, these declining species can prosper once again. EDF is working in partnership with agricultural associations (Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Plains Cotton Growers, and Farm Bureaus in California, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, to name a few) to launch habitat exchanges that unlock the potential of agriculture to grow bird habitat alongside crops and pastures. Exchanges provide a mechanism for farmers and ranchers to get paid for stewarding at-risk bird habitat by conservation investors and industries that are required by law to mitigate their development impacts...more