A new state-federal program will pay farmland owners in 11 Missouri counties to set aside land as habitat and nesting grounds for prairie chickens, which once roamed the state's prairies in the hundreds of thousands. Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas are among the states making similar offers to their farmers to reverse the decline in prairie chicken habitat, according to the USDA's Farm Service Agency.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife technically has no authority over the use of the surrounding land, but the group requested that Wind Capital take a one-mile setback for all wind turbines to avoid disrupting migratory birds and other wildlife that live near the lake. "The federal government has no right to place a buffer zone on private land," state Rep. Jim Guest said. "But Wind Capital Group is going to listen to them because there are federal tax credits involved." Many environmental and wildlife activist groups have taken pro-wind power positions because the turbines produce electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. ...Despite the allure of green energy, environmental groups have stipulations about where wind farms should be placed.