The U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Ed Schafer, is considering allowing farmers to opt out of a conservation program that pays farmers to protect swamps, native grasslands, and other environmentally important areas found on their land, reports National Public Radio.

A press officer at the Agriculture Department says Mr. Schafer is now considering a plan to let the 450,000 farmers in the program turn the conserved areas back into fields and pastures without giving back the money they were paid to protect them, reports NPR.

“Corn prices are triple what they were a year ago,” says Jesse Sevcik, of the American Meat Institute. “We think there should be an opportunity for farmers to opt out [of the reserve programs] and respond to market signals.”

But environmental groups are protesting the changes, saying that the program prevents more than 400 million tons worth of erosion every year and supports millions of birds.

“The conservation-reserve program is the most successful land-conservation program in history,” says Neil Shader, of Ducks Unlimited. “This is the Holy Grail of conservation.”