In the last two centuries, woody plants have been expanding into the world’s vast grasslands and shrub-steppe rangelands. In the U.S., the expansion of conifers into the Great Plains and sagebrush-steppe has created a cascade of effects that include altered water regimes, habitat loss, increased fire severity, and more.Read more

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications beginning June 3, 2019, for certain practices under the continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup and will offer extensions for expiring CRP contracts.The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized CRP, one of the country’s largest conservation programs.Read more

In a ceremony at Ottowa National Wildlife Refuge in Ohio this week, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced a proposal to expand hunting and fishing access on some U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-run refuges and fish hatcheries and open new sportsmen’s access on others. This recognizes the value of hunting and fishing to the American economy and addresses one of the major threats to hunting and fishing participation—lost access.Read more