CREP HANGS IN BALANCE: As we have previously reported, a USDA decision regarding the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) application that Governor Pawlenty sent to Washington D.C. last fall is being delayed because of opposition by the state Farm Service Agency and certain farm organizations to the choices offered for permanent easements. These groups oppose offering permanent easements to farmers as part of the CREP application, except in the case of wetlands, where state law requires permanent easements. Several meetings that were convened late last year between the ag interests and other stakeholders, including conservation groups who strongly support permanent easements, failed to resolve the dispute. From what we hear, the groups will be given another chance to reach agreement at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 7. Prospects for the CREP application, which includes 42,500 acres for southeast Minnesota, may depend on whether consensus is achieved.

THE COST OF FAILURE: If failure to reach consensus on permanent easements scuttles the entire CREP application, Southeast Minnesota will have lost a great deal, including:
o Four dollars of federal funding to match each $1 of state funding to purchase conservation easements. CREP is a very sweet deal for the state.
o A jump-start for Governor Pawlenty's Clean Water Initiative. For example, the goal of a two million ton reduction in soil erosion, combined with a 30% reduction in sediment delivered to streams, depends on buffering riparian edges of cropland - which CREP would enable - combined with conservation tillage on upland acreage. This can be considered a substantial down payment on reductions that likely will be called for by future turbidity total maximum daily load studies.
o Reduced cost of environmental compliance by farmers. The special CREP rent incentive bonus, signing incentive, maintenance payments and practice incentive payments, on top of normally calculated CRP annual rent payments, make riparian buffers a very sweet deal to begin with. On top of that, farmers who install a 100-foot-wide vegetated riparian buffer along a permanent stream are exempted from state feedlot rules requiring immediate incorporation of manure, and phosphorus management, within a 300-foot setback area from permanent streams. Those who install a 50-foot-wide vegetative buffer along an intermittent stream or drainage ditch are similarly exempted from these requirements. For farmers with limited manure management options, and limited land for application, buffers can buy valuable elbow room while providing substantial pollutant filtering.
o Lasting groundwater protection. In karst country, efforts that clean up surface water also help to protect groundwater because of intercommunication. However, the CREP application specifically targets 4,675 acres to groundwater protection through buffering of sinkholes, wellhead protection areas, and a prominent groundwater recharge zone known as the Decorah Edge.
o Continued progress toward water quality improvement with voluntary measures. As reported in the December edition of balmm currents, BALMM partners are making considerable headway using voluntary approaches assisted by a variety of federally funded projects. Many of these efforts have been directed toward fecal coliform impairments. Another challenge facing southeast Minnesota is soil erosion as it contributes to suspended sediment, or turbidity. The CREP application is carefully targeted to address cropland contributing disproportionately to soil erosion. The original application was designed to drastically reduced soil erosion on the region's most erosive 210,000 acres by carefully targeting 40,000 acres with CREP through critical area set-asides and contour buffers. The current application takes us half way there. Absent CREP, we lack a credible strategy for achieving lasting erosion control and sediment reduction on these acres, and thus for achieving water quality standards for the region's sediment-impaired rivers and streams.

THE 'WORKING LANDS' QUESTION: Some may ask how a land-retirement program such as CREP can be consistent with the goal of "keeping working lands working," a question that may have some bearing on the permanent easement debate. To answer this question, we need to look at the specifics of the CREP application for Southeast Minnesota. When we do so, we notice that the entire application amounts to 1.6% of cultivated cropland, not an amount that will make a significant difference in the amount of land that is farmed. Secondly, about half of the easement acreage would retire edges or corners or pieces of fields - not entire fields. Thus, retirement of riparian buffers on 11,050 acres, or restoration of wetlands on 8,925 acres, would not appreciably reduce the amount of productive farmland under cultivation, or the number of farms of fields that remain actively farmed. The question of "working land" would seem to apply mainly to the 15,000 acres of easements targeted to highly erodible fields. The intent of the CREP application was to target the most erosive fields that are clearly unsuitable for row crop farming over the long run, either from the standpoint of maintaining soil productivity or protecting streams from sediment pollution. However, there are ways of keeping such lands "working", or earning an economic return, after they are converted from row-cropping to some kind of perennial vegetation. For one, occasionally grazing and haying to manage ground cover now is allowed on CRP acres. As another example, landowners interested in trees can include a forest management plan in their CREP application that provides for some harvest, consistent with maintenance of wildlife habitat. Ten percent of the CREP easements in the Minnesota River Basin included tree plantings, according to Jim Brooks of Minnesota DNR. In southeast Minnesota, according to Brooks, landowner interest in trees could be considerably higher.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Southeast Minnesota CREP Coordinator Bev Nordby (Mower SWCD District Manager) is organizing a local CREP Coalition, with contacts from each county 14 counties plus several non-government organizations. For more information, contact: Bev Nordby at 507-434-2603 or email bev.nordby@mn.usda.gov

DRAFT 2004 IMPAIRED WATERS LIST UNVEILED AT JAN. 21 PUBLIC MEETING: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has scheduled a public informational meeting on Jan. 21, 1:00 p.m., following the morning BALMM meeting at Rochester MPCA offices, to discuss an update of the list of lakes and stream segments in Minnesota that are considered "impaired" and need to be cleaned up under federal law. The list will be open for public comment in January, with meetings taking place around the state throughout the month. The discussion will include the schedule for beginning Total Maximum Daily Load studies on single impairments or groups of impairments, by watershed or basin, in the next several years.
"Impaired waters" are lakes and streams that fail to meet water-quality standards designed to protect them from pollution. The federal Clean Water Act requires states to assess all their waters for impairments and publish updated lists of them every two years. Since the last list in 2002, the MPCA has identified 211 additional impairments, bringing the total for the 2004 draft list to 1,916 impairments on 1,123 water bodies. (A single lake or stream may have multiple impairments.) The list has grown in recent years as the MPCA collects more data on water quality. The impairments affect 920 lakes and 203 streams.
"The restoration of impaired waters is the number-one priority for our agency," said MPCA Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan. "We've only fully assessed 12 percent of our lakes and five percent of our river miles for these types of impairments, and we've found nearly 2,000 cases where our waters are not meeting their intended uses."
"It's not just about factories and wastewater treatment plants anymore," Corrigan said. "The pollutants causing most of these impairments come mainly from the routine activities all of us do every day, from driving our cars and fertilizing our lawns to agricultural and stormwater runoff. We are all part of the problem and we must all be part of the solution."
The Clean Water Act also requires states to prepare studies called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each impairment on the list. A TMDL defines the maximum amount of a pollutant a water body can receive and still be safe for its intended uses (fishing, swimming, drinking, etc.). TMDLs also set limits and reduction goals to ensure impaired waters will be restored to and maintained at applicable water-quality standards. Examples of pollutants causing impairments include bacteria, mercury, sediment and excess nutrients, for example phosphorus or nitrogen. A lake or stream may also be impaired if its dissolved oxygen is too low or its temperature too high, conditions that can harm aquatic life.
The public meetings will include an informational presentation on categories of impaired waters, how and why water bodies are placed on the list, and what steps are being taken across the state to address impairments. Public notice requirements in the Clean Water Act will also be outlined as well as opportunities for public participation in the process of identifying and implementing TMDLs.
The draft 2004 list will go on formal public notice by publication in the State Register on Jan. 12, 2004 and public comments will be accepted until Feb.12, 2004. Following the public comment period, the MPCA will finalize the list and submit it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for federal approval.
Information on the 2004 draft Impaired Waters list is available on the MPCA Web site at <http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl.html>. Questions, comments and requests for additional information can be directed to Howard Markus, MPCA Environmental Outcomes Division, 520 Lafayette Road N, St. Paul, MN 55155, or by calling him at 651/296-7295 or (800) 657-3864, or by e-mail at howard.markus@pca.state.mn.us.

MINNESOTA RIVER RESEARCH FORUM: The second annual Minnesota River Research Forum is scheduled for Thursday, January 29, 2004. As the title suggests, the theme will feature Minnesota River research issues. Although the agenda is still being developed, Minnesota River pollutant problems such as phosphorus and sediment are likely topics. The Forum will appeal to appeal to watershed project staff, the Minnesota River Board, and others interested in research issues related to the Minnesota River. The event will be held at Minnesota State University - Mankato. The tentative time is 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. An agenda will be available in early January. For more information, contact MSU's Water Resources Center at 507-389-5492

SUSTAINABLE FOREST ROUNDTABLE: This event is scheduled for March 23-24, 2004, at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The purpose of this roundtable, hosted by the Upper Mississippi River Forest Partnership, is to initiate dialogue between this region and the National Sustainable Forest Roundtable and among the people of the Upper Mississippi and its forests regarding social, ecological, and economic components of sustainable forest management as a way to protect and enhance water quality. Register online at <http://www.lsfa.org>, or call 751.634.2006 for registration materials to be faxed or mailed to you. Registration fee is $75.

SHORELAND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES:
Sixteen shoreland education workshops will be offered across the state in 2004. Presented by the University of Minnesota Extension Service Shoreland Education Program, the workshops will include shoreline revegetation and maintenance, aquatic and wetland plant identification, and basic shoreland management. A series of three workshops on managing curly leaf pondweed are being co-sponsored by the Minnesota Lakes Association and the Initiative Foundation.

For more details, including a schedule listing workshop dates and locations, registration forms and fees, and online registration options, visit: www.extension.umn.edu/water/shore <http://www.extension.umn.edu/water/shore>

In the three-day workshops on Shoreland Revegetation, you'll learn how natural shorelines can reduce runoff and erosion, filter nutrients, improve wildlife habitat, and protect your privacy and property values. In addition, you will learn design techniques, plan a revegetation project, and participate in a hands-on planting. The one-day revegetation workshop is a basic introduction.

The Wetland and Aquatic Plant Identification workshops will help you understand the value of shoreland plants, identify common native and exotic plants, and acquire skills to use in lake mapping or developing a management plan. There will be two workshops focused on Maintenance for Shoreland Revegetation projects - learn how to ensure that your big investment survives and thrives.

Two Shoreland Volunteer workshops will train interested lake leaders and property owners in basic aquatic ecology and watershed concepts, aquatic plant management, shoreline management, and communication tips.

These workshops will be valuable for property owners, association leaders, Master Gardeners, nursery professionals, naturalists, educators, local units of government, and elected officials. The Extension Shoreland Education Program is supported by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, Water Resources Center, and Sea Grant Program.

Minnesota's Impaired Waters Stakeholder Process
Public Stakeholder Input Group
January 13, 2004
St. Cloud Civic Center,
St. Cloud, MN
(Tentative time: 9:30am-4:30pm)
In early summer, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and a group of key stakeholders invited the Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI) to design and manage a stakeholder process that would result in a policy framework for the development and implementation of the state's impaired waters program. Since mid-July, dozens of stakeholders from the business, government and nonprofit communities have been meeting regularly to develop their recommendations. On January 13, 2004, these stakeholders will be on hand to explain the outcomes of the process, including the 2004 legislative proposal which establishes funding for the impaired waters program.
The Public Stakeholder Input Group is the largest and most inclusive in the three-tier public participation process MEI created. An audience of several hundred stakeholders ranging from local water quality leaders to legislators are expected to converge on St. Cloud to provide input on the process outcomes and to learn more about what role they can play in the program's implementation.
Because it is a part of the stakeholder process, there will be no charge for the event. To be involved all you need to do is register online at: <http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/events.html>.
More information on the Public Stakeholder Input Group meeting will be sent out in December. If you have questions regarding the event call Peter Frosch at 612-334-3388 ext.108 or email at pfrosch@mn-ei.org. More information on the Impaired Waters Stakeholder Process is available on MEI's website: <http://www.mn-ei.org/policy/impairedwaters.html>
Minnesota Environmental Initiative is a 13-year old nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis. MEI builds innovative partnerships among business, government and nonprofit groups to find solutions to Minnesota's most complex environmental problems.

BEARS REPEATING: "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." -Aldo Leopold

Send comments and items for future editions to:
balmm currents editor: Norman Senjem, MPCA
Phone: 507/280-3592
Fax: 507/280-5513
norman.senjem@pca.state.mn.us