balmm currents
Basin
CREP ALERT!
Please take a moment to read the CREP Update and CALL to
ACTION, and consider contacting your legislator to support funding for the Reinvest
in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve Program to help get the SE Minnesota CREP off the
ground early in 2003. -
CREP UPDATE: BALMM's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) proposal for Southeast Minnesota (described in the last BALMM Currents) has passed a couple of important hurdles lately, but still has a ways to go. At a November 20 meeting between the Farm Service Agency committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and BALMM representatives, consensus was achieved on several important issues: location criteria, list of conservation practices, an enrollment threshold of 120 acres, support for managed haying and grazing and rotation of contour grass buffer strips, special financial incentives, and the basic payment structure. There was consensus that 20-year easements would be the only easement option for the 40,230 acres of highly erodible lands. By state law the 20,000 acres of wetland restorations would be permanent easements.
PERMANENT EASEMENTS OPPOSED: The FSA State Committee strongly opposes offering permanent easements as a choice for the 25,000 acres of riparian land or for the 10,500 acres of groundwater protection acreage in the Southeast Minnesota CREP proposal.
BWSR BOARD COMPROMISE: The BWSR Board, meeting on December 4, voted in support of a compromise CREP proposal that would limit the easement choices available for groundwater and riparian land categories to 50-year and 100-year easements (15-year CRP payments combined with 35-year and 85-year easements, respectively) - nothing shorter. The motion that was passed stated BWSR's continued preference for inclusion of permanent easements as a choice, and that the compromise was offered in order to advance the SE Minnesota CREP proposal.
ANOTHER ISSUE - STATE FUNDING: The Minnesota FSA will consider BWSR's proposal at a future meeting (originally scheduled for December 18, now postponed). However, one more issue has to be resolved before Minnesota FSA will take the final step of submitting the SE Minnesota CREP application to Washington D.C : the state's commitment to provide funding for 20 percent of the project cost.
In a letter to Bev Nordby, Minnesota FSA Executive Director
John Monson stated FSA's strong support for the work of BALMM and its Southeast
Minnesota CREP proposal. "The BALMM group has done an outstanding job of
including all stakeholders in the process and demonstrating value." But,
added Monson, "Unfortunately, the State of
CALL TO ACTION: An excellent opportunity for demonstrating state support for the CREP proposal has just come to our attention from Judy Erickson, Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. That is, support for a $2 million RIM Reserve funding bill that Governor Ventura vetoed last year. Here are the details from Erickson:
Bonding Bill Support Needed.
Last year, as we all know, Governor Ventura vetoed $2 million for RIM Reserve and $750,000 for the new shoreline easement program. Senate Capital Investment Committee Chair, Keith Langseth, has indicated he will introduce a bonding bill which contains all the vetoed items. At this time, the House is considering a bonding bill. It is my understanding that Speaker Sviggum believes it is the right thing to do, but that the Republican Caucus has mixed feelings.
ACTION: We need you to contact your newly elected or relected House and Senate members and urge them to support introduction and passage of a bonding bill which contains the vetoed items from last session. A short personal note to that effect will suffice. Please take a moment to do this, your involvement is critical to building the Legislative support we need to get these bonding projects funded.
If you have been able to schedule a short meeting or coffee time with your legislators, remember to talk about the bonding bill.
Thanks for all your efforts this last year! Have a blessed Christmas season!
Judy Erickson
651-257-1906
jlerickson@tcinternet.net
LEGISLATOR CONTACT INFORMATION: The following senate and house districts are within the BALMM area:
State Senate Districts: All or part of the following Districts: 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
State House Districts: All or part of the following Districts: 25B, 26A, 26B, 27A, 27B, 28A, 28B, 29A, 29B, 30A, 30B, 31A, 31B
The following link,
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/1102elecdir.pdf, is to the 2003
MN Legislature Election Directory on the Legislature's home page.
<<Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program-2>>
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