Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture to STOP cuts to conservation.TAKE ACTION
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[[link removed]]John,

Right now, millions of acres of wildlife habitat across the country are in
jeopardy.

Through the national Conservation Reserve Program, farmers and ranchers restore
habitat for wildlife like the sharp-tailed grouse—but a proposed rule from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture would weaken this long-standing initiative by
sidelining the needs of wildlife and reducing incentives to participate in this
popular program.

Send a clear message to the U.S. Department of Agriculture today: Don’t weaken
the conservation program that brought prairie birds back from the brink.
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YES, I WILL TAKE ACTION
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Prairie birds need our help: Their once sprawling grassland prairie habitats
have been diminished and fragmented—mainly through expansion of agricultural
development—theatening their food sources.

The Conservation Reserve Program helps fill the gaps in habitat needs for
prairie birds by encouraging private landowners to plant native plants and
grasses on farm and ranch land. And it’s working: Over 400,000 acres of Conservation Reserve Program land is
enrolled in Columbian sharp-tailed grouse range in Idaho, contributing to the
bird’s recovery in the state even as it continues to decline in other parts of
its range.

Will you take action for sharp-tailed grouse and help us save millions of acres
of wildlife habitat?
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The sharp-tailed grouse, along with sage-grouse and prairie chickens, could lose
millions of acres of the habitat they rely on if the U.S. Department of
Agriculture follows through on planned changes to the Conservation Reserve
Program. By decreasing incentives for participants and sidelining an important
wildlife initiative within the program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is
poised to harm both farmers and wildlife.

The native grasslands of the Great Plains and Midwest are disappearing faster
than any other ecosystem in North America. Close to ninety percent of the native tallgrass prairies in America have been
destroyed for agriculture or development.

With so much at stake, tell the Department of Agriculture that their proposal
must be fixed for wildlife and family farmers.
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Protecting and restoring prairie habitat for wildlife in the long term is a key
way to protect the sharp-tailed grouse and other wildlife in the Midwest.
Farmers and ranchers, through the Conservation Reserve Program, have protected
regional wildlife and waters through restoration of habitat and planting of
diverse mixes of native plants and wildflowers.

The administration should be collaborating with farmers to continue to restore
prairies—not pulling the rug out from underneath these conservation-minded
landowners.

Take Action Today: Tell the administration to protect prairie birds by making
key wildlife-friendly changes to their current proposal for the successful
Conservation Reserve Program.
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Thank you for all you do for wildlife.

Sincerely,

Julie Sibbing
Senior Advisor, Land Stewardship
National Wildlife Federation Action Fund

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