How shall we conserve wildlife without evicting ourselves Aldo Leopold Wildlife & Agriculture What are the historical & contemporary relationships between wildlife and agricultural practices? What are the types of farmland habitat & how do they affect wildlife? What are the pros & cons of various farmland management practices? Wildlife & Agriculture What is agroforestry? Ecological sacrifice Can farms & wildlife coexist? Who cares? Wildlife & Agriculture History Positive & negative impacts of agriculture Wildlife Abundance Pre-settlement1900s2000s Forest spp. Farmland spp. (U.S Fish & Wildlife Service) East Wildlife & Agriculture History Changes in farming since the mid-1900s Small family farms large monocultures Diversity Clean farming Increased use of pesticides & herbicides Farmland wildlife: prairie chickens, cottontails, northern bobwhite, & pheasants Farm size, field size, % row crops, use of pesticides & herbicides, & disturbance % hayfields & pasture, fencerows, wetlands, edge, & diversity of land use Wildlife & Agriculture History Changes in farming Small family farms large monocultures Belize? Wildlife & Agriculture History Changes in farming Small family farms large monocultures Wildlife & Agriculture History Land clearing and Slash & Burn Agriculture U.S. Tropics E.g., Belize Community Baboon Sanctuary Milpas Livestock production Other parts of the world Leopold: Marshland Elegy USDA Forest Service Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Conservation v. conventional tillage of row crops Crop residue & disturbance Conventional-till (3% of area depending on native food Composition: species & needs Attract predators & pests Disease issues Lure crops Dispersion of wildlife Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Odd areas Leopold: Prairie Birthday USDA photo by: Tim McCabe Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Linear habitats Roadways Fencerows Hedgerows Shelterbelts Food, cover, edge, & corridors Interspersion & connectivity Wind & erosion Width, location, & orientation USDA Photo by: Bill Tarpenning Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Pasture & hayfield management Rotational grazing Species composition Monocultures Improved/tame grass Food, cover, & erosion Grass example Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Management of streams, ponds, & wetlands Fencing Alternative water sources Erosion & sedimentation Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Agricultural chemicals Effects Direct & indirect Biomagnification Habitat Endocrine disruption Soils & weather Persistence Spread USDA Photo Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Fertilizer Direct & indirect effects Pros & cons (Scott Roberts, Mississippi State University, Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Pesticides Chlorinated hydrocarbons E.g., DDT & Dieldrin Organophosphates E.g., Malathion Carbamates E.g., Fenoxycarb Pyrethrins Direct & indirect effects Integrated pest management (IPM) Biological, chemical, & cultural methods (Alton N. Sparks, Jr., The University of Georgia, Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Herbicides Weeds are our friends! E.g., Agent Orange & Round-up Pros & cons (Tom Landis, USDA Forest Service, Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Water management Crop irrigation Livestock Wildlife Pros & cons USDA photo by: Tim McCabe Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Organic farming Tillage, herbicide, pesticide, & fertilizer? Increased diversity Wildlife panacea? Pros & cons Mhof.net Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Landscape diversity Create small family farms Field size, types of crops, fallow areas, pasture, non-cultivated areas, interspersion, disturbance, etc. USDA photo by: Ron Nichols Wildlife & Agriculture Farming Techniques Agroforestry Silvopasture Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs 1985 Food Security Act (The Farm Bill) USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS; formerly the Soil Conservation Service) USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Set-aside programs Swampbuster provision Sodbuster provision USDA photo by: Tim McCabe Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs 1985 Food Security Act (The Farm Bill) 1990, 1995, 2002, & 2008 amendments Currently? Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs 2008 Food, Conservation, & Energy Act (The Farm Bill) - FSA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Grassland Reserve Program* Public Access & Habitat Incentive Program Now Public Access program *jointly administered with NRCS Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs 2008 Food, Conservation, & Energy Act (The Farm Bill) - NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) Conservation of Private Grazing Land Conservation Stewardship Program Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Farmland and Ranch Lands Protection Program Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs 2008 Food, Conservation, & Energy Act (The Farm Bill) - NRCS Grassland Reserve Program* Cooperative Conservation Partnership Program * jointly administered with FSA Wildlife & Agriculture Farm Programs US Fish & Wildlife Service-Partners for Fish & Wildlife State Programs FWC Florida Landowner Assistance Program (LAP) UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension Service Wildlife & Agriculture Conflicts Crop depredation Livestock depredation USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services Annual impact in the billions! Food costs Wildlife values, habitat, & populations USDA Photo Wildlife & Agriculture What about declining farmland wildlife? Exotics E.g., ring-necked pheasants Artificially high populations in the East? E.g., bobolinks, prairie chickens, cottontails Wildlife Abundance Pre-settlement1900s2000s East Wildlife & Agriculture Can farmers & wildlife coexist? Of cranes & caracaras Farmers actually like wildlife! Incentives! Hunting, ecotourism (e.g., Baboon Sanctuary), etc. Wildlife & Agriculture Are farms needed for wildlife conservation? East African linkages Wildlife & Agriculture Ecological sacrifice Wildlife & Agriculture Food, cover, water, & space Disturbance & diversity Leopolds Tools game can be restored by the creative use of the same tools which have heretofore destroyed it--axe, plow, cow, fire, and gun