Study Claims Ethanol is Crowding Out Wildlife

Prairie Farmer
Jason Vance
Published: Jan 14, 2010

RFA points to recent record crop on fewer acres in refuting report findings.

On Wednesday, a study conducted for the National Wildlife Federation by a team of graduate students from the University of Michigan was released. The report analyzes the current and potential impacts of increased corn ethanol production on wildlife and habitat in the Prairie Pothole states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

According to the study, populations of sensitive wildlife species are declining significantly in areas with high increases in corn plantings. The updated Renewable Fuel Standard, passed in 2007, requires corn ethanol production to increase from 10.57 billion gallons in 2009 to 15 billion in 2015, which means corn ethanol production will continue to increase.

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