Bird populations dropping in EU tied to farming policies (The Guardian)

[NickB79]

1. Get ready for something similar to happen in the US

With farmland prices through the roof, farmers are rapidly cutting down trees and plowing over CRP land to get more acreage. Where I live (southern edge of the Twin Cities, MN), woodlands are being cleared all the time to expand farmland. My dad just sold the family farm, and the first thing the new owner did was clear-cut 30 acres of mature oak/maple/basswood/walnut forest. The fucker also drained 3 ponds and wetlands. The only consolation was that he did the wetland draining illegally, was caught, and fined $24,000.