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Conserving Biological Diversity and the Conservation Reserve Program
Author(s) -
SZENTANDRASI SUSANNE,
POLASKY STEPHEN,
BERRENS ROBERT,
LEONARD JEROME
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
growth and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1468-2257
pISSN - 0017-4815
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2257.1995.tb00177.x
Subject(s) - endangered species , wildlife , biodiversity , conservation reserve program , wildlife conservation , habitat conservation , habitat , environmental resource management , north american model of wildlife conservation , environmental planning , geography , land use , government (linguistics) , business , ecology , agroforestry , agriculture , environmental science , biology , linguistics , philosophy
The lack of success with the endangered species approach to conserving biodiversity has led to calls for programs that are designed to maintain viable populations of species before they become endangered. While wildlife preserves are an important component of biodiversity conservation, effective protection of species will often take place on land that is used primarily for purposes other than wildlife habitat. The suitability of these lands as wildlife habitat can be influenced by government programs. An important example of a program affecting agricultural land use is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which is the largest land retirement program in US. history. The expected down‐sizing of the program in the mid 90s sharpens the need for improved targeting if the program is to continue to provide wildlife benefits. This paper studies how well the current CRP fares as a biodiversity conservation program and suggests possible ways to target the CRP to conserve wildlife habitat. A methodology for tackling this task in Oregon is outlined.