Working Together for Wildlife
(Learning about the Farm Bill)

Grade Level:
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Time Required: 50 minutes a day for one week, plus a long-term independent project

Objectives/Goals:
1. Students can describe two federal programs that help landowners provide wildlife habitat.
2. Students will be able to conduct online research on a current issue or confict.
3. Students will be able interact with business and government representatives.
4. Students will be able to present information in oral and written formats.

Curricular Areas:
Listening, researching, interviewing, report writing, speaking, economics, government.

Overview:
1. A teacher lecture introduces the Federal Farm Bill and landowner economics.
2. Students conduct online research and interviews to investigate their topic.
3. Students present results in a portfolio and in an oral presentation.

Lesson's Concepts:
1. In California, 90% of original wetlands are gone, and nearly two-thirds of remaining wetlands are privately owned.
2. Many California wetlands must be artificially irrigated and managed to recreate marsh conditions.
3. Maintaining wildlife habitats in California is costly, and can oftentimes only happen with the help of government programs that cost-share expenses.
4. Agricultural lands can provide valuable habitat for wildlife, and partnerships help make wildlife programs successful.

Materials Needed:

• List of Website Resources page for each student or group
• Internet and e-mail access
• a copy of the Farm Bill Conservation Topics page

Preparation:
1. Read through the teacher lecture and visit websites to become familiar with the topic of Farm Bills and habitat incentive programs.
2. Copy the List of Website Resources for students or write them on the board.
3. Review the Farm Bill Conservation Topics page and consider whether you will have students work independently or in groups.

Procedure:
1. Using information in the lecture section, inform the students about the status of wetlands in California, federal Farm Bills, and the economics of providing wildlife habitat on privately owned lands.
2. Assign or have students select Farm Bill conservation topics to research. Students can work independently or in small groups.
3. Have students supplement their research by conducting interviews of farmers, habitat biologists, government agency representatives, legislators, and others familiar with conservation projects. Inquire of their knowledge and views about the Farm Bill: support, opposition, participation, reservations etc.
4. Students should write a report presenting the results of their research and interviews. Explain their conservation program topic, incorporate public viewpoints gleaned from their interview, and offer their own assessments about the values and drawbacks of the program. Provide specific guidelines about report format, length, typing requirements, appropriate use of grammar and punctuation, deadline, etc.
5. As an additional assignment, direct students to take on the role of farmers and, in writing, describe their hypothetical situation (acreage, location, crops grown, water availability/cost, mortgage, taxes), the conservation program they'd like to enroll in, why their land qualifies, what type of habitat they'd like to create, and what types of wildlife they'd hope to attract. Suggest including support materials such as maps and drafted contracts.
6. Have students collect their notes, interview questions and answers, reports, and farm descriptions in a portfolio for submission. Have them include a page summarizing what they thought about and gained from the assignment.
7. Have students present their findings to the class individually or in their small groups. Alternatively, have the class work together to create a poster collage that illustrates the workings of a Farm Bill and its importance to wildlife; display and share the collage with the rest of the school.

Assessment:
1. Evaluate the portfolio contents by meeting with each student individually. Have them go through each piece and explain their approach, considerations, and challenges. Have them identify one key item that they learned during the project. Also use the Portfolio Assessment to evaluate the contents.
2. For students making an oral presentation, use the Oral Presentation Assessment for scoring.

Follow-up/Extensions:
1. Students can build wooden wildlife boxes and give them to a local farmer to install on his property. Bat boxes (to control mosquitoes), owl boxes (to control rodents), bluebird and wood duck boxes (to increase nesting sites) are all good options. Search on the internet or at the following websites for information about building, installing and maintaining wildlife boxes:
Bats: http://www.batcon.org (look under projects, then bat houses)
Barn owls: http://www.wildflorida.org/critters/barnowlsbox.asp
Bluebirds: http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/plans.htm
http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/bhbasics/nestboxplans.htm
Wood ducks: www.calwaterfowl.org/Woodduck.htm

2. Students can look through newspapers to find a current controversy related to land use and development. Discuss the pros and cons of the project, propose alternatives, including possible compromises and new partnerships for those involved in the controversy. Have the students write individual letters or a whole-class letter to the parties involved in the dispute, presenting their suggestions for consideration.

Vocabulary List:
Agriculture, commodities, conservation, cost-share, easement, economics, Farm Bill, incentive, legislation, management, partnership, portfolio, reserve program, restore, set-aside, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Teacher Lecture:
A Farm Bill is federal legislation that is revised and renewed about every five to seven years. Although the name "Farm Bill" suggests that the topics addressed in this legislation are narrow and limited to farmers, that's not the case. This legislation covers a range of topics including commodities, agricultural trade, nutrition, rural development, forestry, conservation, and energy.

The conservation provisions are of particular importance for wildlife. Farm Bill legislation gives farmers, ranchers, and other landowners many ways to protect and conserve soil, water, and wildlife resources on their land. Several programs make up the conservation section of a Farm Bill, including the Conservation Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and others. Landowners find a program that fits their situation and enter into contracts that enroll some or all of their lands, providing them with financial incentives and technical assistance.

Each conservation program has unique requirements and accompanying benefits. For instance, the Conservation Reserve Program requires that eligible lands are, or have been, in crop production for a set number of years and provides annual payments for planting wildlife habitat on highly erodible areas. The Wetlands Reserve Program enrolls agricultural lands that were formerly wetlands and provides financial and technical assistance to restore the wetlands.

The newest Farm Bill, which is officially called the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, renewed several existing government-funded programs and added a few new programs to help with the cost of creating and maintaining habitats such as upland nesting fields, summer ponds for newly hatched birds, winter wetlands for feeding and resting, and more.

Wetland habitats are some of the most vulnerable habitats in the country, and Farm Bills help landowners restore and enhance these lands through cost-share programs as an alternative to having federal or state governments try to buy and manage every precious acre using public funds. In California, 90 percent of original wetlands are gone and about two-thirds of all remaining wetlands are privately owned. Many of the state's wetlands are no longer naturally occurring; they must be artificially irrigated and managed to recreate marsh conditions,an expensive prospect requiring water purchases, management time, and structures such as pipes, weirs, and levees. Educating and helping landowners conserve and restore wild habitats on agricultural and other lands is an economical method of providing habitat for wildlife.

Conservation work is expensive, and farmers may not have the financial resources, nor the technical expertise, to plan and implement these projects on their own. Farm Bills help, and so do partnerships within a community. Universities can conduct studies to ensure that quality habitats are developed. Nonprofit organizations can provide technical expertise, develop management guidelines, and speed up the enrollment process. Nearby residents can voice their support for local wildlife projects through letter-writing and voting initiatives.

Explore the 2002 Farm Bill to learn about government programs and processes, agriculture, conservation, land management, economics, civic action, and much more.

Handouts/Visual Aids:
1. List of Website Resources

Government
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ - California legislative information
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/pt/agency.html - Guide to U.S. government

Land Management
http://www.lta.org/conserve/options.htm - What is a conservation easement?
http://www.calwaterfowl.org/incentive_programs.htm - nonprofit role with incentive programs

Farm Bill Information
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/products.html - Natural Resources Conservation Service site
http://www.fb-net.org/index.html - Farm Bill Network
http://www.usda.gov/farmbill/ - USDA Farm Bill site
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm - Farm Service Agency

2. Farm Bill Conservation Topics page

Farm Bill Conservation Topics

Teachers, have your students or student groups select from the following list of topics or identify their own:

A. Summary of the Farm Bill (purposes, overall contents, history, approval process)
B. Summary of the Conservation Provisions (history, trends over time, process for making changes)
C. Localities for Conservation Programs (which programs are used where in the U.S.)
D. Conservation Reserve Program (objectives, qualifications, restrictions, use of funds, types of habitat projects, enrollment procedures, etc.)
E. Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (objectives, qualifications, restrictions, use of funds, types of habitat projects, enrollment procedures, etc.)
F. Wetlands Reserve Program (objectives, qualifications, restrictions, use of funds, types of habitat projects, enrollment procedures, etc.)
G. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (objectives, qualifications, restrictions, use of funds, types of habitat projects, enrollment procedures, etc.)
H. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (objectives, qualifications, restrictions, use of funds, types of habitat projects, enrollment procedures, etc.)
I. Other incentive programs at work (other programs in the Farm Bill or other programs offered by federal, state, and local agencies)
J. Wildlife-friendly Habitats on Agricultural Lands (describe one or more types of habitat)
K. History of Wetlands Loss in California
L. Public Lands for Wildlife in California (who owns, who manages, expenses and funding sources)

3. Portfolio Assessment

4. Oral Presentation Assessment