Wetlands

Environmental advocates say the outlined revision ignores science and threatens water quality, while farm groups argue it offers landowners needed clarity about which parts of their land count as federally protected.

Virtual fencing uses GPS collars, sounds and electrical cues to move cattle across a landscape. Along with saving ranchers time, researchers say this new technology can help protect, and create, wildlife habitat.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a 40-year-old wetlands law that allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture to withhold subsidies from farmers who clear, drain or convert wetlands.

Peat bogs sequester a massive amount of the Earth's carbon dioxide. But even as scientists work to better understand bogs' sequestration, the wetlands are under threat.

Under a 40-year-old law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold subsidies, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain or convert wetlands. A company that owns farmland in Iowa says it’s unconstitutional.

Artificial floating wetlands naturally filter water from contaminants and excess nutrients. There are about a dozen in the state, and the Missouri Department of Conservation wants to add more.