Land Conversion Due to the Renewable Fuel Standard May Harm Endangered Species, Study Says

by Katie Peikes (Iowa Public Radio) ... But the federal policy may affect endangered species and their necessary habitat when farmers convert land into cropland to grow more corn, which is processed into ethanol, according to a new analysis in the journal Biological Conservation.

“When you plow up a grassland to plant additional corn or switch other crops to something that's more intensive, like corn production, that generally results in greater nutrient pollution to waterways,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Tyler Lark, who authored the analysis.

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But Lark said there are ways to reduce or reverse the impacts of renewable fuels policy on threatened and endangered species. Expanding the use of cover crops and other conservation practices on corn acres, Lark said, could provide nesting habitat, reduce nitrate runoff and help these species.

The analysis highlights three potentially impacted species: Whooping cranes, Poweshiek skipperling and black-footed ferrets. Poweshiek skipperling are endangered butterflies that live in tallgrass prairie in Iowa and a few other Midwest states. The analysis says widespread conversion of grasslands into corn production and the increased use of herbicides could harm this species.

Stephen Dinsmore, the department chair for Iowa State University’s Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department said though he is “not intimately familiar” with the Renewable Fuel Standard, “there are a number of mechanisms that can cause the habitat that’s required by these species to decline.”

“The RFS might be one of those,” Dinsmore said. “I think there are other mechanisms as well. An analysis that tries to tease a part is an interesting exercise, but I’m not sure it’s telling the whole story.”

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Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, rejected Lark’s land-use change findings. He said there has been a “shifting of acres between principal crops from year to year” but not “widespread land-use change” for corn.

“We have less acres planted to principal crops than we have since the RFS went into effect and the growth in the ethanol industry went into effect,” Shaw said. “To say that there's been land-use change is hard for us to swallow.”

Biofuels trade association Growth Energy, argued in a statement that there’s no connection between the RFS and impacts to endangered species.

“American-made bioethanol can, and does, deliver major climate benefits, and there is no proven link between the RFS and significant adverse effects to listed species and critical habitat,” said CEO Emily Lark.

A spokesperson for the EPA said the agency is “reviewing the study and its findings.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Growth Energy: Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor issued the following statement in response to the latest article from Tyler Lark, who has a long history of neglecting the accepted science behind the climate and environmental benefits of biofuels:

“In the conclusion of Tyler Lark’s most recent published offensive on the U.S. biofuels industry, he identifies ‘a clear need for further evaluation and review’ of the purported link he identifies between the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and threats to endangered species.

“Growth Energy has recently conducted a thorough review and analysis that was submitted to EPA as part of our RFS comments. Our new report, authored by widely-recognized experts at Ramboll, adds to the wealth of public and private data demonstrating that ‘the best available science’ supports a determination that the RFS program either has no effect or is not likely to adversely affect any listed species or critical habitat. A second report, also commissioned by Growth Energy and authored by Environmental Health & Engineering, specifically rebukes Lark’s previous work for drawing false conclusions based on information that ‘does not match empirical data.’

“Lark’s previous work has been debunked and dismissed by the nation’s top climate scientists, including those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory and University of Illinois-Chicago, among others. In this most recent publication, he again relies on flawed data to vastly overstate the impact on land use, all while overlooking biofuels’ meaningful greenhouse gas reductions, their ability to protect and improve air quality in vulnerable communities, and their other environmental and economic benefits.

“It’s time we put the anti-biofuels narrative to bed. American-made bioethanol can, and does, deliver major climate benefits, and there is no proven link between the RFS and significant adverse effects to listed species and critical habitat. We’re proud to contribute new research to the already large body of work that demonstrates the importance of biofuels to a clean energy future, and our members will continue to deliver low-cost, low-carbon fuel options that make meaningful progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” READ MORE