Hello Wayne and David. Thank you for voicing your concerns and contributing to the discussion. It is important to look at the big picture and recognize the full impact of human activity on the landscape.
Regarding the switchgrass conference, there will be a session devoted to environmental services and impacts. The first speaker for this will be G. Philip Robertson, Professor of Ecosystem Science, Michigan State University. There's also a two-day poster session and still room in the schedule for additional oral presentations. I hope people will take adavantage of the opportunity to present research covering their concerns. http://www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass/ John On Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:40:38 -0500, David L. McNeely <[email protected]> wrote: >I did not see conservation listed as a discipline involved in "Switchgrass II." There is a move afoot in Oklahoma and Kansas to convert Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, which have been succeeding toward something resembling a prairie in those states after having been inappropriately farmed, to switchgrass production. Some of these CRP lands are important Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat, a formerly hugely abundant grouse that has been seriously declining and is proposed as an endangered species. > >Farmers and ranchers, partly because of misinformation, partly because of experience, distrust the endangered species program but work cooperatively with the CRP program -- mostly because it pays to do so, but the result is more habitat for chickens. > >If it is all converted to monoculture, where will the Lesser Prairie Chickens go? > >David McNeely > >---- Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: >> Do I hear a "Giant Sucking Sound?" What is the evidence that switchgrass can >> produce more energy that it takes to get said energy to the point of doing >> work more efficiently than alternatives? What are the implications for the >> ecosystems that would be effectively destroyed by widespread planting of >> switchgrass? Upon what theoretical foundations is the whole concept based, >> including the "use" of "marginal" lands? Does anyone really think that >> marginal lands will not produce marginal amounts of energy? At what cost in >> dollars and degradation/destruction of ecosystems? >> >> WT >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "John Raasch" <[email protected]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:11 AM >> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Switchgrass Conference September 2013 >> >> >> Announcing SWITCHGRASS II, taking place in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 10- 12 >> September 2013 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Registration, >> housing, and abstract submission information available at the following >> website: www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass. >> >> The conference will bring together scientists and students interested in >> switchgrass and other prairie grasses to discuss the state of the art of >> prairie grass research. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet and >> interact with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including >> agronomy, physiology, ecology, soil science, pathology, entomology, >> genetics, genomics, and molecular biology. The conference will include a >> field tour, several plenary presentations, selected volunteered oral >> presentations, a poster session, and a community workshop. >> >> Program Highlights: >> >> All-day tour of prairie/savanna and bioenergy research. >> Eight topical areas, each with one invited speaker. >> One-day poster session, organized according to the eight topical areas. >> >> A small group of abstracts from each topical area will be chosen, with the >> author's permission, for oral presentations. The committee will make this >> decision before the conference, so that authors have time to plan for an >> oral presentation. >> >> Abstract submission deadline: 11:59pm Friday 16 August (Central Daylight >> Time USA) >> >> Registration deadline: 1 September >> >> For more information contact [email protected] or [email protected]. >> >> >> ----- >> No virus found in this message. >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3199/5926 - Release Date: 06/20/13 > >-- >David McNeely >=========================================================================
