Let The Grasslands Be

A lawsuit, recently filed by the National Wildlife Federation, claims that federal laws to protect grasslands are not being enforced. Director of Agriculture Programs for the National Wildlife Federation, Julie Sibbing takes issue with the fact that farmers  that are being encouraged to plow grasslands under, in order to plant corn, for ethanol production.

Sibbing says Montana’s prairie is home to a vast array of wildlife and the area also provides important grazing lands for livestock.

A Fish and Wildlife Service Bird Report notes that very little grasslands are public land, so protecting it is a challenge. Sibbing says native grasslands once spread from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains through the Midwest.