Natural History Wanderings

The Batesville Herald-Tribune reports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program now will encourage more bird habitats to be established in irrigated farmland regions, Farm Service Agency administrator Val Dolcini has announced.

Declines in upland bird populations, such as the northern bobwhite, pheasant and prairie chicken, led to the creation of new CRP features to help restore habitats for these species in these agricultural areas. Since the program’s creation in 2004, more than 240,000 acres of marginal cropland has been converted to native grasslands, spurring an increase in upland bird populations.

Read full story at New USDA rule encourages bird habitats – The Herald-Tribune: News.