2.1 million acres of grassland habitat lost in North American Great Plains in one year

Approximately 2.1 million acres of intact grassland habitat in the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains were plowed under for row-crop production in 2018, according to World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2020 Plowprint Report. The report finds that a nearly equal amount—2 million acres—was transitioned from row-crop production to perennial cover, through grassland restoration projects, the planting of perennial forage species such as alfalfa, or natural processes.