The lead Democrat on the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resource Policy and Finance Committee is sounding a cautiously optimistic note on Governor Dayton's request to the USDA for Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) funding.
In a legislative update email, Representative Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul writes:
The Governor has submitted a request to the federal government for a joint state-federal conservation program. [link]
Here is a story from today's Pioneer Press: [Mark Dayton pushes for $800 million for farm buffers]
Here is the bill I introduced last January: [HF414]
I think that if this proceeds, you actually see a great deal of landowner participation. If done well, this can compliment the recently passed buffer law by providing options for willing landowners to enroll more acres. The opposition will come from the same stakeholders who opposed previous CREP initiatives. Stakeholders are different than landowners. CREP keeps the land in private ownership but secures a public benefit in water quality and wildlife. I used to say prevention is cheaper than cleanup; actually prevention is better than cleanup.
That "stakeholders" are different than landowners is an understatement. In Mark Dayton pushes for $800 million for farm buffers, Pioneer Press outdoor writer Dave Orrick reported:
If it moves ahead, Dayton's plan would be Minnesota's third attempt at CREP.
The first, in the late 1990s, targeted lands along the Minnesota River watershed and resulted in 100,000 acres permanently protected.
Wildlife advocates, from hunting groups to bird lovers, lauded the plan as a boon for natural habitat.
A second CREP, launched in 2005, sought 125,000 acres in various parts of northwest, southwest and southeastern Minnesota. Amid political controversy over the notion of perpetual easements, "CREP II" was roundly seen as a failure, enrolling roughly 7,000 acres.
In the article, Orrick notes that one of the stakeholders is raising that "political controversy" again:
"Perpetual easements are, well, a very long time," said Dan Busselman, director of public policy for the Minnesota Farm Bureau. "Many times in making decisions of this type relative to your private property, you need to have some flexibility in case you change your mind down the road."
When originally introduced, HF414 was co-authored by Fairmont Republican lawmaker Bob Gunther; in the Minnesota Senate, Assistant Minority Leader Carrie Ruud, R-Breezy Point, joined chief author Bev Scalze, DFL Little Canada, and three other Democrats, in sponsoring the bill.
Early Wednesday morning, we posted an overview of the news about Dayton's request in Funding conservation & water quality: Dayton admin turns to CREP to leverage state dollars.
Photo: Some of Rep. Rick Hansen's southeastern Minnesota acreage near Harmony that's enrolled in another conservation program, CRP. Via twitter. Original caption: "Walking through my Conservation Reserve Program fields and wild seeds glow in the waning sun."
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