Republican-Teabagz Jihad on Hunting

It is crazy time and the teabagy republicans are the Khmer Rouge of budget cutting. They want to cut the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by almost 90%.

Farm acres in ‘reserve’ (another shorthand for the CRP) are typically steep and vulnerable to erosion or low and vulnerable to seasonal inundation – the latter meaning they are wetlands, or bordering on wetlands – or they may be part of grassed waterway network setup to slow overland flow, save soil, and improve water quality in adjacent rivers. There are multiple benefits to CRP. Soil stays on the land instead of worsening the Gulf Dead Zone. Peak flood flows in streams are reduced, so folks need less federal flood aid. Runoff is kept clear and clean. Fishermen and boaters like that. For hunters, however, the most important benefit is that CRP lands provide a place for game birds like pheasants and grouse to nest and raise their broods. Without protected brood lands in spring, they perish. The Teap’rs and Heritage want effectively to end the CRP, as indicated by their public statements: cited below.