Waterfowl Populations and the Conservation Reserve Program in the Prairie Pothole Region of North and South Dakota

Newly proposed rules governing future CRP enrollments are causing concern among groups interested in using CRP to maintain and enhance waterfowl habitat in the region. A collaborative effort between economists at the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University and wildlife biologists working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating an objective measure of wildlife habitat into rules that can be used for CRP targeting.