Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment Research Articles

Understanding landowner participation in the Conservation Reserve Program in the U.S. High Plains region

Understanding the array of financial and non-financial decision-making drivers of private landowners with vulnerable cropland for enrolling in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is critical for the success and cost-effectiveness of agricultural policies that aim to create long-term agri-environmental security. Following the underpinnings of the Theory of Planned Behavior, we used Structural Equation Modeling to test the predictive validity and impacts of socio-cognitive variables: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, on landowners’ intent to enroll in CRP. We analyzed mailed survey data of landowners in the western High Plains of the United States, where irrigated agriculture is a major economic activity, and cropland consists of vulnerable wetlands that play a role in recharging the Ogallala Aquifer. Overall, landowners had a positive attitude towards the wetland conservation benefits of CRP enrollment and its benefits of preventing soil erosion and sedimentation. In addition, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavior controls positively influenced landowners’ intentions to (re)enroll in CRP. Among the three predictors, subjective norms had the largest influence. Landowners’ understanding of CRP benefits in improving water quality and availability, and opinions from their neighbors and other landowners were the most significant measured variables affecting their intention to enroll. For enhanced outreach and long-term success, we suggest that policymakers recognize and respond to a range of non-financial motivations to better design programs that represent the conservation benefits of wetlands to leverage their willingness to participate. Furthermore, (re)enrollment acres could be enhanced by understanding local barriers related to landowners’ skills and knowledge and fostering collaboration and coordination among different federal conservation programs in the region.

Improving targeting of farmers for enrollment in agri‐environmental programs

AbstractAgricultural cost‐share research and planning tend to focus on one program at a time, and hence overlook additional efficiencies that might be obtained by considering the possibility that enrollment decisions are related across different programs. Models of multiple‐program participation decisions enable these relationships to be considered as part of conditional enrollment predictions, providing more complete and accurate understanding of enrollment behavior. Analysis of data from farmer surveys in Maryland and Ohio show complementary drivers across program participation. Results are consistent with economies of scale and/or scope among different agri‐environmental programs. The data also show the gains in prediction accuracy when the model accounts for participation in other programs, thereby enabling improved targeting and program design. For instance, enrollment in commodity‐type programs causes a much larger marginal increase (12.6%) in the probability of Maryland cover crops participation than does the increase from Conservation Reserve Program enrollment (4.4%).

Differential effects of policy-based management on obligate and facultative grassland birds

Policy-driven conservation on private lands, such as the U.S. Farm Bill’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), provides crucial habitat for consistently declining populations of grassland birds. In 2004, new CRP enrollments were required to be managed to floristically diversify old grass-dominated fields and provide early-successional habitat. Obligate and facultative grassland birds of varying conservation importance, along with the entire avian community, has received limited research attention within this applied management context. Moreover, multiple parameters (e.g. nest survival and adult density) – opposed to single parameter studies – need to be investigated simultaneously to better understand drivers of avian population dynamics associated with management. Using a combination of graphical and model selection approaches we addressed these gaps focusing on four main questions: 1) How does abundance and richness of various grassland bird community designations respond to broad (e.g. grass type) and specific (control, disking, herbicidal spray, and spray/interseeding) management treatments?; 2) How do grassland birds of conservation concern and economic importance collectively respond to management?; 3) Are various response parameters, including nesting parameters, consistent or decoupled across facultative and obligate species?; and 4) Is there a best management treatment to recommend? Overall, compared to non-native grass (smooth brome [Bromus inermis]) dominated fields, native fields had a greater number of avian species and number of individuals with higher and lower cumulative management, respectively. Facultative grassland species were mostly driving this trend and likely utilizing native fields that tended to have more vertical vegetation structure and forb diversity compared to brome fields. Grassland obligates with higher Conservation Values, such as bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), however, were most abundant and species-rich on unmanaged brome fields compared to native fields. Response parameter decoupling was not readily apparent from our comprehensive modeling analysis of both adult survey and nesting data; however, nest survival was generally higher on native fields for eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), an obligate, yet adult densities for meadowlarks were greater on unmanaged brome fields. Overall, pinpointing a specific mid-contract management practice for CRP that has benefits for all grassland birds remains challenging due to species-specific habitat requirements. However, it appeared the moderate effects of light strip-disking on vegetation may present a good management option for landowners because this treatment may be beneficial across multiple species of grassland birds and would also limit the impact of management to obligates utilizing unmanaged brome fields while also improving the avian Conservation Value of native fields.

Water quality related to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and cropland areas: Evidence from multi-temporal remote sensing

Water quality is affected by croplands. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), where farmers convert croplands to natural land cover (e.g., trees), is expected to improve water quality. However, whether such improvements are achieved alongside cropland area change has not been verified at river-basin scales, due to challenges in large scale observations. Therefore, aiming to quantify the relationship between CRP enrollment, cropland area, and the downstream water quality, we propose an approach that combines archived survey data, water quality monitoring data (total nitrogen content, TN), and remote sensing observations. By constructing the long-term datasets (1999–2014 annually) in Google Earth Engine and conducting multiple linear regression, we explained 79% variation in TN by the area of total CRP enrollment (CRP_all), area of corn and soybeans croplands, and discharge. Moreover, 78% is explained if we consider only water quality targeted conservation practices (CRP_WQ). Our results indicate significant positive correlation between CRP enrollment (both CRP_all and CRP_WQ) and the downstream water quality. Nevertheless, it should be noted that correlation does not necessarily represent causation. While this pioneer effort of quantifying impacts of the CRP on water quality from large scale observations has achieved some success, we call for more research to expand the spatial and/or temporal scales and consider more water quality variables, so as to further enhance our understanding of the coupled natural-and-human system.

Simulating Strategic Implementation of the CRP to Increase Greater Prairie‐Chicken Abundance

ABSTRACTThe Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has the potential to influence the distribution and abundance of grasslands in many agricultural landscapes, and thereby provide habitat for grassland‐dependent wildlife. Greater prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) are a grassland‐dependent species with large area requirements and have been used as an indicator of grassland ecosystem function; they are also a species of conservation concern across much of their range. Greater prairie‐chicken populations respond to the amount and configuration of grasslands and wetlands in agriculturally dominated landscapes, which in turn can be influenced by the CRP; however, CRP enrollments and enrollment caps have declined from previous highs. Therefore, prioritizing CRP reenrollments and new enrollments to achieve the greatest benefit for grassland‐dependent wildlife seems prudent. We used models relating either lek density or the number of males at leks to CRP enrollments and the resulting landscape structure to predict changes in greater prairie‐chicken abundance related to changes in CRP enrollments. We simulated 3 land‐cover scenarios: expiration of existing CRP enrollments, random, small‐parcel (4,040 m2) addition of CRP grasslands, and strategic, large‐parcel (80,000 m2) addition of CRP grasslands. Large‐parcel additions were the average enrollment size in northwestern Minnesota, USA, within the context of a regional prairie restoration plan. In our simulations of CRP enrollment expirations, the abundance of greater prairie‐chickens declined when grassland landscape contiguity declined with loss of CRP enrollments. Simulations of strategic CRP enrollment with large parcels to increase grassland contiguity more often increased greater prairie‐chicken abundance than random additions of the same area in small parcels that did not increase grassland contiguity. In some cases, CRP enrollments had no or a negative predicted change in greater prairie‐chicken abundance because they provided insufficient grassland contiguity on the landscape, or increased cover‐type fragmentation. Predicted greater prairie‐chicken abundance increased under large‐parcel and small‐parcel scenarios of addition of CRP grassland; the greatest increases were associated with large‐parcel additions. We suggest that strategic application of the CRP to improve grassland contiguity can benefit greater prairie‐chicken populations more than an opportunistic approach lacking consideration of the larger landscape context. Strategic implementation of the CRP can benefit greater prairie‐chicken populations in northwestern Minnesota, and likely elsewhere in landscapes where grassland continuity may be a limiting factor. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

Land use dynamics within the tallgrass prairie ecosystem: the case for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Tallgrass prairie has been reduced to a fraction of its original extent, due to rapid conversion to other land use types, especially agricultural and urban. Restoration is a relatively new process to convert agricultural land back to communities dominated by native vegetation. We used a differential equations compartmental model to quantify changes between land use types, incorporating the impact of human population within the Midwestern tallgrass prairie ecosystem. We considered transitions between native prairie, prairie restored through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), agricultural, and urban land. We used historical data to determine parameter ranges. Sensitivity analyses emphasize the importance of increasing incentives for CRP enrollment as a means to restoring the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

The Opportunity Cost of the Conservation Reserve Program: A Kansas Land Example

AbstractThe effects of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on farmland values is investigated using a set of parcel‐level data for land sales in Kansas over the period 1998 to 2014. The sales data are used to estimate a hedonic model of land values that allows for the opportunity cost of CRP enrollment to vary across space and time. Factors impacting the opportunity costs include the relative productivity of land, returns to farming, and the time remaining under the CRP contracts. We find that the discount associated with having land under CRP contract averages 7%.

Assessing soil resilience across an agricultural land retirement chronosequence

Reestablishment of perennial vegetation can improve soil conditions on intensively cultivated lands, but the timeframe required to recover uncultivated soil quality is not well understood. This study aimed to measure the recovery of soil physical (bulk density, aggregate stability, and water infiltration rate), biological (total microbial biomass and soil respiration), and chemical (surface soil organic carbon [SOC]) parameters across a 30-year land retirement chronosequence. Soil parameters on lands retired under long- and short-term Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment periods were compared to undisturbed and actively cropped lands, and chronofunctions were utilized to estimate the time required to achieve uncultivated soil quality. Results showed that short-term enrollment was not sufficient to restore any parameters to uncultivated quality, although bulk density, water infiltration, soil respiration, and total organic carbon (C) levels generally trended toward the undisturbed condition. No significant differences between the uncultivated and 30-year CRP enrollment for aggregate stability and total microbial biomass suggests uncultivated soil quality was restored within 30 years of land retirement. Based on chronofunction analysis, an estimated period of 53 years would be necessary to return bulk density and soil respiration to undisturbed quality on retired land. Water infiltration and SOC had the longest predicted recovery time of 75 and 128 years, respectively. These results suggest soil properties recover at varying rates once retired into perennial grassland systems, and long-term land retirement is necessary to restore soil properties to precultivation condition and maintain high quality soils capable of providing key ecosystem services.

The Impact of Federal Crop Insurance on the Conservation Reserve Program – Erratum

I directly estimate the acre-for-acre impact of crop insurance participation on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment at the county level. The government may be sponsoring competing interests if subsidized insurance expands production at the expense of CRP. I employ an instrumental variables technique to correct for endogeneity in insurance decisions. Results suggest that an additional 1,000 acres insured reduces CRP enrollment by about three acres, though effect sizes vary by region. Local policy initiatives such as conservation compliance incentives could help offset local environmental consequences of converting land from CRP to insured production.

Habitat Conservation, Ethanol, and Recent US Federal Farm Bills: A GIS Study Exploring Conservation Reserve Program Trends Pre- and Post-Ethanol Expansion in the Upper Midwest

Farmland in the Upper Midwest, USA, planted to corn has increased significantly in the past decade due to a rush toward ethanol production for fuel. Much of this increase came from fields that were previously protected under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a Federal land retirement incentive. This Geographic Information Systems (GIS) study quantifies these land changes in Minnesota, a northern state in the U.S. Corn Belt, prior to the past decade using 1997 and 2008 CRP GIS data layers for individual fields. Currently available CRP enrollment data by county masks significant changes occurring on a field-level scale, data which is no longer publicly available. Results suggest that marginal lands better suited for riparian wildlife habitat and surface water protection were plowed under in favor of industrial corn production. This was especially notable with fields in close proximity to refineries or those in drinking water supply management or groundwater contamination susceptibility areas. Federal ethanol mandates, farm bill policies, and high corn prices contribute to the pressure to farm these sensitive lands. Currently, CRP enrollments are capped at 9.7 million hectares, reduced from a long-standing 13-million-hectare cap by the 2014 farm bill. Discussions are now underway in the U.S. Congress to craft the 2018 farm bill and farming and conservation interests are strongly urging the Federal government to restore the 13-million-hectare enrollment cap. Ecosystem functions and benefits are optimized when conservation efforts are maintained over long periods and not interrupted by short-term political or economic trends.

The Impact of Federal Crop Insurance on the Conservation Reserve Program

I directly estimate the acre-for-acre impact of crop insurance participation on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment at the county level. The government may be sponsoring competing interests if subsidized insurance expands production at the expense of CRP. I employ an instrumental variables technique to correct for endogeneity in insurance decisions. Results suggest that an additional 1,000 acres insured reduces CRP enrollment by about three acres, though effect sizes vary by region. Local policy initiatives such as conservation compliance incentives could help offset local environmental consequences of converting land from CRP to insured production.

Landscape‐scale greater prairie‐chicken–habitat relations and the Conservation Reserve Program

ABSTRACTBoth the abundance of greater prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) and the area of grassland enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in northwestern Minnesota, USA, have recently declined. Although wildlife conservation is a stated objective of the CRP, the impact of the CRP on greater prairie‐chicken populations has not been quantified. To address that information need, we evaluated the association between greater‐prairie chicken lek density (leks/km2), the number of males at leks (males/lek), and CRP enrollments in the context of landscape structure and composition in northwestern Minnesota. Using data from standardized prairie‐chicken surveys and land cover in 17 41‐km2 survey blocks during 2004–2016, we used a mixed‐effect model and a layered approach in an information‐theoretic framework at multiple spatial scales to identify covariates related to prairie‐chicken abundance. At the landscape scale, lek density was best explained by the amount of CRP grassland and wetland, grassland and wetland with long‐term conservation goals (state, federal, and The Nature Conservancy owned); other wetlands managed with variable or no continuity in conservation goals; the contiguity of grasslands; and the number of patches of grasslands and wetlands in each survey block each year. Increasing the amount of CRP grassland in 41‐km2 survey blocks by 1 km2 (2.4%) resulted in a corresponding increase of 6% in lek density. At the lek scale, the number of males per lek was best explained by the amount of CRP grassland and other grassland, CRP wetland and other wetland, forests, developed areas, shrubland, and the contiguity of CRP grassland. Increasing the amount of CRP grassland in the 2‐km breeding‐cycle habitat radius around a lek by 25% (3 km2) corresponded to a 5% increase in males per lek. Our results suggest that both increasing the quantity of grassland CRP and wetland CRP enrollments and aggregating CRP grassland enrollments may increase greater prairie‐chicken abundance. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

Point sources and agricultural practices control spatial-temporal patterns of orthophosphate in tributaries to Chesapeake Bay

Orthophosphate (PO4) is the most bioavailable form of phosphorus (P). Excess PO4 may cause harmful algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems. A major restoration effort is underway for Chesapeake Bay (CB) to reduce P, nitrogen, and sediment loading to CB. Although PO4 cycling and delivery to streams has been characterized in small-scale studies, regional drivers of PO4 patterns remain poorly understood because most water quality trend assessment focus on total P. Moreover, these trend assessments are usually at an annual timestep. To address this research gap, we analyzed PO4 patterns over a 9-year period at 53 monitoring stations across the CB watershed to: 1) characterize the role of PO4 in total P fluxes and trends; 2) describe spatial and temporal patterns of PO4 concentrations across seasons and streamflow; and 3) explore factors explaining these patterns. Agricultural watersheds exported the most total P compared with watersheds under different land uses (e.g., urban or forest), with PO4 comprising up to 50% of those exports. Although PO4 exports are declining at many sites, some agricultural regions are experiencing increasing trends at a rate sufficient to drive total P trends. Regression modeling results suggest that point source load reductions are likely responsible for decreasing PO4 concentrations observed at many sites. Watersheds with more Conservation Reserve Program enrollment had lower summer PO4 concentrations, highlighting the effectiveness of this practice. Manure inputs strongly predicted PO4 concentrations at high flows across all seasons. Both manure applications and conservation tillage were correlated with changes in PO4 concentrations at high flow, suggesting these activities could contribute to increasing PO4 concentrations. This study highlights the effectiveness of point source control for reducing PO4 exports and underscores the need for management strategies to target sources, practices, and landscape factors determining PO4 loss from soils where manure inputs remain high.

Land conservation can mitigate freshwater ecosystem services degradation due to climate change in a semiarid catchment: The case of the Portneuf River catchment, Idaho, USA

There is increasing evidence of environmental change impacts on freshwater ecosystem services especially through land use and climate change. However, little is known about how land conservation could help mitigate adverse water-sustainability impacts. In this paper, we utilized the InVEST tool and the Residual Trends method to assess the joint effects and relative contributions of climate change and land conservation on freshwater ecosystem services in the Portneuf River catchment in Idaho, USA. We developed five hypothesized scenarios regarding gain and loss in the enrollment of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the largest agricultural land-retirement program in the U.S., plus riparian buffer and assessed their interactions with climate change. Results suggest that the realized water yield in the Portneuf River catchment would possibly be 56% less due to climate change and 24% less due to the decline of CRP enrollment. On the contrary, if CRP enrollment is promoted by ~30% and riparian buffer protection is implemented, the water supply reduction in the year 2050 could be changed from 56% to 26%, the total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) export would be reduced by 10% and 11%, and the total suspended sediment (TSS) reduced by 17%. This study suggests that increasing implementation of the CRP would likely preserve key freshwater ecosystem services and assist proactive mitigation, especially for semiarid regions vulnerable to changing climate conditions.

Impact of Long‐Term Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment on Soil Quality

Natural Sciences EducationVolume 47, Issue 1 180101 p. 1-1 Student Manuscript Impact of Long-Term Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment on Soil Quality Stella L. Pey, Corresponding Author Stella L. Pey holly.dolliver@uwrf.edu c/o Holly Dolliver, Plant and Earth Science, University of Wisconsin, 410 S. 3rd Street, River Falls, WI, 54022Corresponding author (stella.pey@my.uwrf.edu, holly.dolliver@uwrf.edu).Search for more papers by this author Stella L. Pey, Corresponding Author Stella L. Pey holly.dolliver@uwrf.edu c/o Holly Dolliver, Plant and Earth Science, University of Wisconsin, 410 S. 3rd Street, River Falls, WI, 54022Corresponding author (stella.pey@my.uwrf.edu, holly.dolliver@uwrf.edu).Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 2018 https://doi.org/10.4195/nse2018.01.0101 All rights reserved This manuscript is a scientific paper with an intended audience of researchers and landowners interested in the Conservation Reserve Program, land use, and soil quality. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume47, Issue1December 2018Pages 1-1 RelatedInformation

Conservation Reserve Program enrollment decisions in the Prairie Pothole Region

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has retained support from farmers and the conservation community for three decades. Beneficial to farmers, the program is voluntary, does not require a permanent easement or the transfer of property rights, and provides fixed income and other financial support. However, high and volatile commodity prices in recent years have increased the opportunity cost of participating, and program enrollment has decreased. This paper considers the influence of contract design on the enrollment decision and estimates the trade-offs between rental rates and program attributes. A stated preference discrete choice experiment was completed during in-person interviews with farmers in the Prairie Pothole Region. Rental payment and establishment cost paid by the government had a direct relationship with likelihood of program enrollment. Tighter restrictions on the use of enrolled land had a negative effect, especially among farmers with livestock. Likelihood of enrollment increased with age, and age decreased responsiveness to increasing maximum bid and to tighter restrictions on land use. Expression of concerns about the CRP affected the degree of responsiveness among farm operators to changes in program attributes. Addressing these concerns through program design or education may serve to increase interest in the program. Farmers were willing to take a lower rental payment under program conditions they considered more favorable including an increased government share for stand establishment and a flexible land use policy. Consideration to introducing CRP contracts with flexible attributes, especially land use constraints, is warranted.

Landowner and Practitioner Perspectives on Private Land Conservation Programs

ABSTRACTEfforts to reverse declines in native grasslands benefit from agricultural policies that encourage private land conservation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) improved conservation across landscapes but enrollment has declined. We used sequential exploratory mixed methods to compare landowner and conservation practitioners’ perceptions, evaluate perceived benefits, and identify potential improvements to CRP. Focus groups of practitioners informed a quantitative survey of landowners who had properties >160 total acres in Nebraska. Results suggest potential misalignment in perceptions between practitioners and landowners. Practitioners were concerned that conservation, especially of wildlife, was secondary to profit. But the majority of landowners valued CRP-related ecosystem services, including native pollinators. Practitioners posited that younger landowners were primarily profit motivated, but CRP enrollment did not differ by demographics. Practitioners and landowners identified rule complexity as a major challenge and practitioner–landowner relationships as critical to success. Findings suggest that practitioners may underestimate non-economic motivations and illuminate opportunities to encourage private land conservation.

Simulated impact of the renewable fuels standard on US Conservation Reserve Program enrollment and conversion

AbstractA socioeconomic model is used to estimate the land‐use implications on the U.S. Conservation Reserve Program from potential increases in second‐generation biofuel production. A baseline scenario with no second‐generation biofuel production is compared to a scenario where the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) volumes are met by 2022. We allow for the possibility of converting expiring CRP lands to alternative uses such as conventional crops, dedicated second‐generation biofuel crops, or harvesting existing CRP grasses for biomass. Results indicate that RFS2 volumes (RFS2‐v) can be met primarily with crop residues (78% of feedstock demand) and woody residues (19% of feedstock demand) compared with dedicated biomass (3% of feedstock demand), with only minimal conversion of cropland (0.27 million hectares, <1% of total cropland), pastureland (0.28 million hectares of pastureland, <1% of total pastureland), and CRP lands (0.29 million hectares of CRP lands, 3% of existing CRP lands) to biomass production. Meeting RFS2 volumes would reduce CRP re‐enrollment by 0.19 million hectares, or 4%, below the baseline scenario where RFS2 is not met. Yet under RFS2‐v scenario, expiring CRP lands are more likely to be converted to or maintain perennial cover, with 1.78 million hectares of CRP lands converting to hay production, and 0.29 million hectares being harvested for existing grasses. A small amount of CRP is harvested for existing biomass, but no conversion of CRP to dedicated biomass crops, such as switchgrass, are projected to occur. Although less land is enrolled in CRP under RFS2‐v scenario, total land in perennial cover increases by 0.15 million hectares, or 2%, under RFS2‐v. Sensitivity to yield, payment and residue retention assumptions are evaluated.

Importance of Contract Attributes on Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment Decisions in the Prairie Pothole Region

U.S. farmers? interest in CRP has waned. Enrollment for 2015 was targeted at 26 million acres but as of the end of February, actual enrollment had declined to 24.6 million acres (USDA, 2015). Available studies point to recent fluctuations in commodity prices as a predominant factor in this enrollment gap. Other potentially influencing factors remain understudied, including farmer preferences for contract design. A choice experiment survey was conducted in the Prairie Pothole region to assess these preferences. An exploded logit model was used to evaluate the preference heterogeneity among program attributes. Results indicate that an increase in the maximum payment, length of contract, and the government?s share of establishment cost increase the utility of farmers, whereas, fixing terms at the beginning of the contract and imposing more land use restrictions on enrolled land have a negative impact on farmers? utilities.

Multi-scale associations of grassland birds in response to cost-share management of conservation reserve program fields in Illinois

The Illinois State Wildlife Action Plan targeted the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as important improvable acres for grassland and grassland-successional bird species of greatest need for conservation. A large portion of CRP grasslands in Illinois and elsewhere lack floristic and structural diversity because of the absence of management and the extensive planting of monotypic grasses such as tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix). The 2006 Farm Bill included the mid-contract management (MCM) provision requiring landowners with new CRP enrollments to provide habitat improvement midway through the 10–15-year contract duration. We compared the effects of 3 approved MCM regimes (i.e., fall strip disking, fall glyphosate spraying, fall glyphosate spraying followed by spring legume drill-seeding) on grassland bird communities in 60 tall fescue-dominated CRP fields in south-central Illinois during 2006–2008. We modeled relative density of dickcissels (Spiza americana), Henslow's sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii), and eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) as a function of microhabitat, patch-level patterns, and landscape composition using a multi-scale assessment approach. We detected 10 grassland-associated bird species (e.g., Henslow's sparrow, northern bobwhite [Colinus virginianus], sedge wren [Cistothrus platensis], Savannah sparrow [Passerculus sandwichensis], grasshopper sparrow [Ammodramus savannarum]) that are recognized as species of greatest need for conservation under the Illinois State Wildlife Action Plan. Mean total bird densities and species richness were greater in glyphosate-sprayed fields (5.0 birds/ha; 11.5 species) and glyphosate drill-seeded fields (4.4 bird/ha; 12.4 species) than in disked (3.4 birds/ha; 8.7 species) and reference (3.1 birds/ha; 7.5 species) fields. The avian conservation value of glyphosate sprayed and glyphosate drill-seeded fields increased 34.2% and 32.6% post-management, respectively, but we did not detect change in disked and reference fields. Our models indicate that density of each of the focal species is likely associated with changes in plant species diversity and habitat structure resulting from management actions but is also influenced by landscape composition. Despite an overall positive response of the grassland bird communities to glyphosate-based treatment regimes in tall fescue CRP fields in south-central Illinois, the response of Henslow's sparrow density to glyphosate was not consistently positive. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.