Since 2012, the region has seen 32 million acres of its landscapes destroyed, according to the environmental group.
Over the course of 12 months, an area of Great Plains grasslands bigger than the state of Delaware was erased from the map. In 2021 alone, 1.6 million acres were plowed across the United States and Canada to make way for primarily row crop expansion, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s annual Plowprint Report, released Thursday.The report analyzed grasslands plow-up in North America using government data and satellite imagery from the past two years.
Most grassland plowing has been occurring on private land as landowners have the option to plow, whether to make room for crops or commercial development. For instance, in March the Rockford International Airport began construction in the Bell Bowl Prairie, home of the endangered rusty patched bumblebee, to make way for a roadway. Meanwhile, very little federal-owned land can be plowed, Bolt said.
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