Aug. 17, 2023 www.investigatemidwest.org Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Report on butterfly shows tie between conservation, agriculture
Farmers and ranchers gain value from healthy prairies, which are disappearing in the U.S. The Iowa skipper butterfly's story reveals the consequences.
In March, the Center for Food Safety, a national nonprofit focused on creating environmentally safe food systems, petitioned the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to list the Iowa skipper under the Endangered Species Act.
Native prairie is the butterfly's sole habitat. It and other species are disappearing from this ecosystem. Benefits of biodiversity are lost in the process.
“Can you save the whole prairie if you lose the parts?” asked one butterfly expert.
— Suzanne Behnke, digital editor
Iowa skipper butterfly 'canary in coal mine': A warning sign of prairie loss consequences for farmers, wildlife alike
By Ava Mandoli, Investigate Midwest
Dennis Schlicht has been chasing butterflies for 50 years. Species he used to see everywhere — including the Iowa skipper, a yellow-orange, stamp-sized butterfly — are nowhere to be seen today.
The skipper’s only habitat is native prairie, an ecosystem that has been almost entirely destroyed in the U.S. because of agricultural and urban development. Corn and soybean crops now dominate the once-diverse prairie landscape.
Habitat destruction and pesticides are two main threats agriculture poses to prairie dwellers. Because of these threats, a conservation group is requesting the federal government protect the Iowa skipper.
PHOTOS: See more photos of a prairie below.
Graphic: Midwestern land-grant schools received at least 42% of ag research grant money, data shows
By Talia Duffy, Investigate Midwest
Twelve Midwestern land-grant universities got at least $1.4 billion in agricultural research grants between 2012 and 2022, data shows.
That’s 42.4% of the at least $3.5 billion total given to land-grant universities, according to a dataset of grants for ag research. Michigan State was the top recipient.
See the graphic.
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