Buy Time for Birds
Should a local conservation group organize a voluntary $2,500 fund for a 2027 pilot, paying one willing farmer up to $2,000 to delay mowing a suitable 20-acre nesting hayfield until July 15, with up to $500 for habitat checks and monitoring? Launch only with full funding, a suitable field, and a signed agreement; otherwise return contributions. A YES vote supports this proposal, not a donation or pledge.
Explanation
Buy a nesting window, not a farm. The pilot would contract for no mowing, grazing, or other field disturbance before July 15, 2027, on 20 contiguous acres with nesting Bobolinks. A willing farmer receives up to $100 per acre; donors supply 100 voluntary $25 contributions. The farmer gives up early cutting and accepts possible losses in hay quality or feed value. Bird populations and people who value them receive the intended benefit. A local conservation group would have to agree to administer the fund and recruit a qualified field assessor. No group, farmer, or donor has committed. The $2,500 budget is a proposal, not a price quote. There is no promised number of birds saved. Continued hay production after the nesting window helps maintain the grassland.
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