Growing Returns

USDA-funded projects help farmers protect water and wildlife

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 29, 2015

Earlier this month, the USDA authorized nearly $400 million in federal funds through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to improve soil quality, water quality and quantity, and wildlife habitat.

The program funded 115 initiatives covering a wide range of conservation benefits, from improving wildlife conservation efforts in California’s ricelands to reducing fertilizer runoff in the Mississippi River Basin.

These projects demonstrate that by prioritizing spending of conservation dollars on projects where large numbers of farmers are committed to cooperative conservation, we can avoid the need for costly regulatory programs. Read More »

No time to wait: sage grouse delay gives urgency to conservation

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 5, 2015

The greater sage-grouse

You may have seen a strange looking bird causing quite a stir in the news recently. That’s because there’s a lot at stake with the greater sage-grouse, especially now that a rider in the federal spending bill prevents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the species under the Endangered Species Act in 2015 (a decision was originally expected in September). But this delay isn’t stopping ranchers, conservationists and other key stakeholder from moving full speed ahead to find a solution.

You might not get this sense from the political dialog and the media, but out on the ground, there is a real spirit of cooperation when it comes to the greater sage-grouse. That’s because everyone realizes that – rider or no rider, listing or no listing – this bird needs help.

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged conservation, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, eric holst, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchange, sage grouse, sally jewell, Terry Fankhauser | Comments are closed

Setting the table for more sustainable food in 2015

By EDF Staff / Published: December 29, 2014

2014 was a milestone year for sustainable agriculture across the United States and around the world. In the U.S., we saw food companies and agribusiness like United Suppliers step up to the plate to meet Walmart’s new demand for sustainable grains, and EDF’s launch of the new Sustainable Sourcing Initiative. We also saw the launch of the United Nations’ Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, which aims to enable 500 million farmers worldwide to practice sustainable farming.

On the Colorado River, countless stakeholders including U.S. and Mexican policymakers, conservation organizations and farmers came together to orchestrate and witness the Colorado River Delta pulse flow – the temporary release of water across the United States-Mexico border that brought relief and restoration to the dry, empty river delta ecosystem – an historic accomplishment for people and the environment.

Also posted in Carbon Market, Climate Resilience, Supply Chain, Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, California Air Resources Board, Carbon Offsets, climate change, compost protocol, ecosystems, farms, fertilizer, food security, GHG mitigation, habitat exchange, Partnerships, sustainable agriculture, water quality, water use, western water | Comments are closed

Are we giving farmers enough credit for stewardship?

By Sara Kroopf / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 3, 2014

Photo credit: EDF/Mathew Grimm

At Environmental Defense Fund, we believe in the power of incentives to drive agricultural sustainability. That’s why we support emerging markets like California’s Central Valley Habitat Exchange and the state’s fledgling cap and trade market, which will soon allow rice growers to earn extra revenue.

Both markets reward farmers for improving the environment in specific ways.

The Central Valley Habitat Exchange, when it becomes operational, will allow farmers who create enhanced habitat for at-risk species to sell credits to businesses and agencies that need to meet conservation goals.

Also posted in Carbon Market / Tagged ACES, agriculture, Carbon Offsets, ecosystems, endangered species, GHG mitigation, habitat exchange, rice, wildlife | Comments are closed

California’s new water law a win for agriculture and the environment

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: December 3, 2014

Now that voter passage of a $7.5-billion water bond is firmly set in California’s rear-view mirror, it’s time to look forward and map out the road before us. How will the money be spent, and where will it drive change?

Beneficiaries of the new law will be vast, to be sure, but a good chunk of change is slated to support farm communities while restoring habitat and freeing water up for the environment. Here’s how:

$900 million for groundwater sustainability

This funding has the potential to improve the quality and reliability of groundwater resources that many agricultural communities across the state depend on. It is designed to ensure that projects are prioritized based on several criteria, including how the project will prevent the spread of groundwater contamination into storage areas, how the project will impact local water supply reliability, and whether the project can recharge vulnerable and high-use groundwater basins.

Posted in Habitat Exchange / Tagged agriculture, california, Chinook salmon, conservation, ecosystems, endangered species, groundwater, habitat exchange, sustainable agriculture, Swainson's hawk, water bond, water use, Western Farm Press, western water | Comments are closed

A cattleman’s quest to save a bird and help ranchers thrive

By David Wolfe / Bio / Published: October 29, 2014

Terry Fankhauser, Executive Vice President of Colorado Cattelmen’s Association

Terry Fankhauser is a rancher and executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. He is also a board member and executive director of Partners for Western Conservation, which seeks to implement market-based conservation services that benefit wildlife and the economy.

Terry joined me and other conservation colleagues last week in Washington, D.C., to discuss habitat exchanges at the National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation. I asked him to give us a recap of the discussion and to tell us why he got involved in the development of exchanges.

Why were you in D.C. last week?

I took the opportunity to travel to Washington to convey the message that agriculture producers are investing time and resources into developing conservation markets like the Colorado Habitat Exchange. We are just as interested as other parties in addressing conservation concerns, regulatory challenges and the ongoing need for viable businesses that drive our economies.

Wyoming ranchers steward land, cattle and the greater sage-grouse

By Sara Brodnax / Bio / Published: October 9, 2014

Cattle ranching and greater sage-grouse can not only coexist, but thrive.

Ranchers and other private landowners have a critical role to play in conserving wildlife like the greater sage-grouse, which could face listing under the Endangered Species Act in 2015.

Home to nearly half of the greater sage-grouse’s remaining habitat, Wyoming is a landscape critical to the recovery of the species. A full 40 percent of the bird’s habitat in the state is privately held. Therefore, common sense solutions are needed to reward ranchers and other private landowners for conservation actions that protect vital habitat.

A rural, working landscape

Private lands in the West are often found near water, as ranches and other homesteaders put down stakes where they had ready access to water. For similar reasons, these areas are also critically important to wildlife.

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, ecosystems, endangered species, ESA, greater sage-grouse, habitat, Jonah Field, Partnerships, Pinedale Anticline, ranching, sage grouse initiative, Sublette County Conservation District, Upper Green River Conservation Exchange, wildlife, Wyoming, Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts, Wyoming Association of Stock Growers, Wyoming Conservation Exchange | Comments are closed

New federal framework provides path forward for landowners and sage-grouse

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 3, 2014

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces a difficult decision on the listing of the greater sage-grouse. On the one hand, populations are in steady decline across the range and the Service has already indicated that the bird’s condition will likely warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. On the other hand, a listing would pit the Service against powerful economic interests – including energy and agriculture – and against most of the political apparatus of the 11 Western states that harbor the imperiled bird.

But the Service just did itself and all sage-grouse stakeholders a big favor.

Earlier this month, the Service released the Greater Sage-Grouse Range-Wide Mitigation Framework – a guidance document intended to help states and private sector interests design solutions for the bird that, if implemented quickly and effectively, would be taken into account when the Service makes its final listing determination in 2016.

Also posted in Wildlife Protection / Tagged agriculture, ecosystems, endangered species, ESA, federal policy, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchange, mitigation heirarchy, Partnerships, ranching, range-wide mitigation framework, sagebrush, USFWS | Read 1 Response

“Growing” habitat can help agriculture and wildlife weather the drought

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: September 11, 2014

The California drought is putting the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers at serious risk. Without a reliable water supply, many fields are going fallow. This not only threatens the state’s world-leading agricultural economy, it significantly impacts wildlife species that depend on agricultural lands for survival.

A pioneering program under development in California’s Central Valley, however, may offer farmers and wildlife some relief. It’s called the Central Valley Habitat Exchange, and while it wasn’t conceived for the express purpose of helping growers in times of drought, it can reward producers who provide habitat by growing less water-intensive crops. Here’s how.

Farmers and ranchers can help bring birds back from the brink

By Stacy Small-Lorenz / Bio / Published: September 9, 2014

A raptor adapted to the open grasslands, the Swainson's hawk has become increasingly dependent on agriculture, especially alfalfa crops, as native communities are converted to agricultural lands.

A raptor adapted to the open grasslands, the Swainson’s hawk has become increasingly dependent on agriculture in California, especially alfalfa crops, as native communities are converted to agricultural lands.

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.

Success stories show the way

Iconic bird species like bald eagles, brown pelicans and peregrine falcons that were once teetering on the edge of extinction are thriving again. California condors, with their spectacular 10-foot wingspans, went extinct in the wild in 1987. Today, 225 individuals soar once again over several western states.