Achieving conservation objectives on farms: A case study of the ecolabel approach in Wisconsin

Background/Question/Methods Farms make up a significant component of land use worldwide. In addition to producing commodities, each farm provides ecological services such as clean water, healthy soil, carbon sequestration, biological diversity, and rural aesthetics. But the production of these ecological services is often inadequate or unsustainable. Using the uncultivated portions of farms for biodiversity conservation purposes is an idea of long standing in which there is renewed interest. The basic problem remains finding mechanisms that will reward growers appropriately so that conservation practices, including restoration, can be expanded and improved. The Wisconsin Healthy-Grown Potato® project seeks to do this by including certification for sound ecological management of selected non-crop lands into a broader ecolabel, market-based incentive effort. Our USDA-funded project has been assessing the current levels of biodiversity in non-croplands adjacent to potato fields in central Wisconsin by collecting data on three groups – plants, insects, and birds. We are also providing preliminary data on the gains in conservation value obtained through restoration towards the original (ca. 1840) vegetation of the region, a mosaic of pine barrens, oak and oak/pine savanna, woodlands, and wetlands. Our certification procedures are modified from the Nature Conservancy's 5-S system for site conservation used to develop regional conservation goals. Our objective was to have a system that required specific on-the-ground management actions by growers aimed at sustaining and restoring native biodiversity. Results/Conclusions At this point, 11 farms are enrolled, with each participating farm conducting one or more of a set of management practices chosen to enhance the value of non-crop lands on 322 acres ('08) of land. Most of these actions are designed to shift the current status of the vegetation toward greater dominance by native species and to meet regional conservation objectives. Our data show that even without ecological management these farms contain a significant proportion of native biodiversity within our three study groups. It appears that restoration can enhance this, but ultimate confirmation of this will require long-term monitoring. We are encouraged that the level of commitment of this community of growers to conservation objectives makes it likely that this effort will be sustainable, and are looking at the market-based incentives as the mechanisms for economic returns to growers for such an effort.