The sweeping prairies of the Great Plains are shrinking by millions of acres every year under the combined pressure of cropland conversion and rapid spread of invasive trees.
Scientists and conservationists have said Great Plains grasslands are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Collapse of the biome would bring serious consequences for livestock production, wildlife habitat, water security and wildfire management. Schools and communities also lose revenue when rangeland production is lost to woody invasions on lands where profits go to fund public education.
Highlighting the importance of grassland conservation in federal agriculture policy, Terry Cosby, Natural Resources Conservation Service chief, recently met with Dirac Twidwell, professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and Derek McLean, dean of the Agricultural Research Division at Nebraska, along with Robert Lawson, Nebraska NRCS state conservationist and other partners.
