The Conservation Reserve Program and Grassland Birds

Several bird species that breed in the temperate grasslands of North America, many of which winter in the Neotropics, declined in abundance during the past quarter century. The Lark Bunting and Grasshopper Sparrow, as examples, declined by about half during that period, as indexed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Breeding Bird Survey. Populations of other grassland species have also diminished steadily, if not as spectacularly.