34
something there for them to eat,” he says. “And butterflies!
I’ve never seen so many butterflies.”
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As word spreads about
the benefits of the Natural Lands Project, Small and his col-
leagues are hopeful that many other farmers will want to par-
ticipate.
Habitat Exchanges
Another type of incentive program for farmers to help save wildlife
is known as the habitat exchange. Under this program, which
was developed by the EDF, landowners agree to protect, restore,
conserve, and in some cases create wildlife habitat on their land.
“Farmers do a great job of growing stuff,” says the EDF’s Eric
Holst, “and wildlife relies on habitat that can also be grown or
tended to by farmers or ranchers.”
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According to the EDF, habitat exchanges are either in prog-
ress or are being developed for a variety of wildlife species. One
species that is a high priority is the monarch butterfly, whose
population is in severe decline. According to the EDF, in the
past two decades the population of monarchs has plummeted,
and the butterfly is now dangerously close to extinction. This
is largely due to disappearing habitat—specifically, a wild plant
known as milkweed, which monarchs need for laying their eggs
and breeding. In the past milkweed plants grew abundantly in
many areas of the United States. For a number of reasons,
primarily the widespread use of chemical weed killers (herbi-
cides) by farming operations, milkweed is fast disappearing—
and when it is gone, monarchs will no longer be able to survive.
Farmers involved in habitat exchange programs can help save
butterflies by planting milkweed along roadsides instead of
converting the areas to cropland. “Since farmers and ranchers
manage much of the habitat appropriate for milkweed,” says
the EDF, “they are in a perfect position to restore and enhance
this vital habitat.”
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Another high priority for the EDF is protecting and restoring
the habitat of the greater sage grouse, a bird that is native to
western rangelands. In order to survive and thrive, these birds
need large expanses of healthy sagebrush grasslands as well
