Ethanol production's effects on South Dakota pheasant habitat

Excerpt from this March '07 article:

Pheasant hunting and related tourism is just one example of a major economic boon to not just South Dakota, but many other U.S. states. And a huge percentage of this money -- not to mention a huge percentage of the wildlife -- is facilitated by privately owned lands that are part of the CRP land restoration program...

But now, because of booming demand for a fuel product that's driven by misguided notions about its environmental benefits, a lot of this land may soon be in jeopardy. According to an Associated Press article from Feb. 7, President Bush's latest budget proposal would back burner CRP, freezing new enrollments in the program through 2008.

The USDA expects this move to result in an 8% decline in CRP acreage nationwide over just the next 21 months as farmers eager to capitalize on the ethanol-charged price of corn revert this acreage back to croplands. The agency predicts corn will top $3.60/bushel this year, an 80% increase over 2005's $2/bushel price.

And since Congress' 2005 energy bill stipulates that the U.S. nearly double its production of ethanol by 2012, this price will only keep going up. So will the number of acres that are pulled out of CRP's protection and converted back into waterway-polluting, erosive, wildlife-barren, pesticide-laced cornfields.