[Pollinator] Ag Secretary Urged to Reject Early Release of Land in Conservation Reserve Program

Thu Jul 10 07:46:36 PDT 2008

 Ag Secretary Urged to Reject Early Release of Land in Conservation Reserve 
Program

Last update: 11:48 a.m. EDT July 9, 2008

 WASHINGTON, July 9, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- 15 Groups say 
move would be 'devastating blow' to nation's soil, water, wildlife habitat, 
increase global warming
 Fifteen conservation groups today sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ed 
Schafer strongly urging him to reject pressure from Congress and producer 
groups "to allow the penalty-free early release of land enrolled in the 
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)." USDA has been urged to release up to 24 million 
acres from CRP - roughly three-fourths of the land currently enrolled in the 
program - and put it back into production. This move would result in a loss of 
billions of dollars of taxpayer investment in conservation on these lands.
 "A penalty-free early release of the magnitude you are considering - 
millions of acres - would deliver a devastating blow to the nation's soil, water, and 
wildlife habitat, and significantly increase global warming," said the 
letter. "Because most CRP lands are marginal for cropping, even if all CRP acres 
were brought back into commodity production, the impact on aggregate commodity 
supplies and prices would be modest... We urge you to protect the taxpayers' 
investment in soil quality, water quality, and wildlife habitat and not allow 
landowners to leave CRP contracts early without fully reimbursing the Treasury 
for the taxpayer-funded investment in those lands."
 CRP is a federal program designed to reward farmers who take fragile land 
out of production and plant grasses or trees or restore wetlands on the land in 
exchange for rental and federal cost-share payments. Currently, CRP enrollees 
who terminate their contract prior to the end of its 10- to 15-year term must 
reimburse the federal government for the rental and cost-share payments they 
have received, plus interest, and a penalty of 25 percent of the total rental 
payments received. The recent CRP proposals would waive all these costs for 
landowners.
 The letter opposing these proposals is signed by Environmental Defense Fund, 
The Minnesota Project, Sierra Club, Center for Native Ecosystems, National 
Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Partners for Sustainable 
Pollination, Environmental Working Group, Pollinator Partnership, Defenders of 
Wildlife, American Farmland Trust, World Wildlife Fund, American Rivers, Sustainable 
Agriculture Coalition and American Bee Keeping Federation.
 The full letter text is below.
 July 9, 2008
 The Honorable Ed Schafer
 Secretary of Agriculture
 U.S. Department of Agriculture
 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
 Washington, D.C. 20250
 Dear Secretary Schafer:
 We strongly urge you to reject proposals to allow the penalty-free early 
release of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Early release 
of even a modest number of acres from CRP would waste the money American 
taxpayers have invested in restoring those lands to grassland or other cover and 
would eliminate the benefits to soil, water, wildlife and the public that the 
lands provide. A penalty-free early release of the magnitude you are 
considering - millions of acres - would deliver a devastating blow to the nation's soil, 
water, and wildlife habitat, and significantly increase global warming. The 
resulting damages could cost taxpayers substantially.
 The oldest of the farm bill's voluntary conservation incentives programs, 
CRP is a federal program designed to reward farmers who take fragile land out of 
production and plant grasses or trees or restore wetlands on the land in 
exchange for rental payments and federal cost-share payments. Since its creation 
in 1985, CRP has been responsible for reducing hundreds of millions of tons of 
erosion each year, reducing pollution in our nation's waterways. CRP is also 
an important reservoir for wildlife, and has had significant benefits for 
populations of ducks, grassland birds, and other species. Keeping land in CRP is 
also critical in the fight against global warming. Allowing millions of acres 
out of CRP prior to the end of the contract period would quickly erase many of 
the gains that have been made with CRP and will likely create new problems.
 Because most CRP lands are marginal for cropping, even if all CRP acres were 
brought back into commodity production, the impact on aggregate commodity 
supplies and prices would be modest. On the other hand, the impacts to soil, 
water, wildlife, the public, and the recreational industry that has developed 
around wildlife such as pheasants and waterfowl produced on these lands would be 
substantial. We urge you to protect the taxpayers' investment in soil quality, 
water quality, and wildlife habitat and not allow landowners to leave CRP 
contracts early without fully reimbursing the Treasury for the taxpayer-funded 
investment in those lands.
 Sincerely,
 Environmental Defense Fund
 The Minnesota Project
 Sierra Club
 Center for Native Ecosystems
 National Wildlife Federation
 National Audubon Society
 Partners for Sustainable Pollination
 Environmental Working Group
 Pollinator Partnership
 Defenders of Wildlife
 American Farmland Trust
 World Wildlife Fund
 American Rivers
 Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
 American Bee Keeping Federation
 Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, 
represents more than 500,000 members nationwide and 100,000 in California. Since 
1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and 
innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most 
serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org

Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Pollinator Partnership
425 Washington Street, 5th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
415 362 1137 (p)
415 362 3070 (f)
LDA at pollinator.org
www.pollinator.org
www.nappc.org

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2008. Create or attend an event in 
your state. Visit www.pollinator.org National Pollinator Week for complete 
details.

Join the Pollinator Partnership working to protect agriculture and ecosystems 
- visit www.pollinator.org
.
 SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund

 http://www.edf.org

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