NPR Weighs in on Upland Habitat

[BritChaser]

This morning the local NPR affiliate ran a national story about pheasant hunting and the decline of habitat and birds, featuring interviews of the PF rep in NE and a U. NE professor. The decline is all about large fields and no cover - monoculture is the term that comes to mind. The professor compared two aerial shots of a certain plot of NE land, one from the '50s one from today, to demonstrate what has happened.

 

[SetterNut]

This morning the local NPR affiliate ran a national story about pheasant hunting and the decline of habitat and birds, featuring interviews of the PF rep in NE and a U. NE professor. The decline is all about large fields and no cover - monoculture is the term that comes to mind. The professor compared two aerial shots of a certain plot of NE land, one from the '50s one from today, to demonstrate what has happened.

I believe that is correct. I went to google earth and looked at a couple of the places that I used to get into lots of quail. One place had not edge cover, others the trees and brush had overrun.

I compared 1991 to 2012.

 

[thornton]

Habitat loss and degradation is hardly new information especially as it applies to the popular prairie areas...let's see if NPR "weighs in" on the poor management of our national forests and the resulting decline evident there for 40, 50 years or so.
They may have missed that....or chose not to acknowledge it.

 

[UGUIDE]

Great to see the issue get national attention which is part of solution. Even talking to buddy at Cargill one day he was talking about impacts to environment from ethanol due to increase demand for corn. He is a non hunter.

Now that we know what problem is. What is the solution and who is going to pay for it?

 

[double trigger]

Great to see the issue get national attention which is part of solution. Even talking to buddy at Cargill one day he was talking about impacts to environment from ethanol due to increase demand for corn. He is a non hunter.

Now that we know what problem is. What is the solution and who is going to pay for it?

Agreed - getting national exposure and (hopefully) concern about these issues won't hurt and perhaps mount pressure to do something constructive about the problem. The ole' squeaky wheel gets the grease - time to make noise about this!

 

[AtTheMurph]

You get more of what you subsidize. Our government subsidizes the hell out of farming so we get farms that run for miles unbroken. Every inch of marginal land is tilled and planted because it makes economic sense to do so because of the subsidies.

End the subsides and you will see the habitat return and the wildlife with it.