balmm currents
Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota
March 18, 2002




BALMM MEETING: The next BALMM meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 20th
at the MPCA offices in Rochester from 9:00 am to noon. On the agenda are
follow-up reports on recent activities on Sustainable Development and
Conservation Tillage strategies, a review of 2001 accomplishments and a look
ahead to implementation of more BALMM strategies such as nutrient
management, wastewater treatment, wetland restoration, and floodplain
management.

KEY CREP QUESTION: LIMITED-DURATION OR PERPETUAL: A critical last step in
our CREP application process is determining the types of easements that are
going to be offered as part of our Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program,
especially the duration of the easement -- limited duration vs. perpetual.
The BALMM leadership feels that it is vital that this be a recommendation to
the state and federal decision-makers from the BALMM membership. Therefore,
at this Wednesday's BALMM meeting we will be taking action on this item. IT
IS IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU WANT INPUT ON THIS DECISION, YOU ATTEND THE MEETING
ON WEDNESDAY.

CURRENT LANGUAGE IN CREP APPLICATION: The following paragraph from the draft
CREP proposal describes the current recommendation on easement duration:
* Incentive Payment Justification/Easement Duration
An integral aspect of this CREP proposal is to present landowners
with a range of choices regarding duration of easement. This project will
use state RIM funds to provide an added incentive to place easements on
lands enrolled in the program beyond the 15-year period provided by
Conservation Reserve Program payments. Farmers will be presented with the
following range of options for easement duration: 20-year; 35-year, and
permanent. Incentive payments will be increased as the duration of the
easement is increased, in accordance with the increased environmental
benefits provided by the longer easement periods. It is recommended that
permanent easements be used primarily for wetland restorations, groundwater
protection zones, and riparian zones, including flood plains. It is expected
that shorter-duration easements will be used for contour buffers on highly
erodible land.

POINTS OF VIEW: As near as we can determine, the debate over easement
duration is bracketed by the following arguments:
1) Offer a choice among limited duration and perpetual easements: The
public has an interest in purchasing easements that will permanently remove
certain land from farming, and allocate them to uses that produce natural
resource benefits. This land usually is of marginal value for farming, as a
result of being very wet or steeply sloping. The landscape has been altered
in the extreme; CREP is merely an attempt to restore a little balance in
favor of the environment. By state law, wetland easements must be
permanent. Riparian zones are protected by shoreland ordinances because
they "belong" to the proper functioning of the stream which they border.
Shouldn't sinkholes be permanently protected against contamination, too? If
landowners are presented with a range of choices and they freely choose to
put their land in a permanent easement, why should anyone object? In the
Minnesota River Basin, many landowners said they wanted a permanent easement
as a way of leaving a legacy of environmental protection to future
generations. Why should anyone try to limit landowners' ability to act on
this desire?

2) Limit the choice to limited duration easements for certain land
uses: Forever is a long time, to say the least. We should not tie the hands
of future generations. We can't anticipate what kinds of land needs and land
management methods might emerge in the future. Reasons for retiring land
permanently may look good or excellent today, but may make little or no
sense in the future. Permanent easements may well interfere with even better
land use options that we can't even envision today. Granted, state law
requires that easements for wetlands be permanent. We accept this. But we
should think long and hard about offering permanent easements for other
types of land. We should also look at the kinds of incentives we are
offering for permanent vs. limited-duration easements, so that we don't
create undue incentives for the former over the latter. "Choice" sounds
good, but the choice should be real, and not stilted.

What do you think? Email your thoughts, or attend the next BALMM meeting, to
have a say in the future of land use in southeastern Minnesota.

LANDOWNER PERSPECTIVES: Kristen Blann provides a summary of her Graduate
Research project entitled "Landowner perspectives on stream management and
conservation programs in southeastern Minnesota", which she presented at the
previous BALMM meeting:

Land management practices on privately owned land are governed by a
combination of economic constraints, stewardship ethics, local knowledge
and experience, personal beliefs, relationships with natural resource
agencies, and other social factors. We conducted five focus groups with
landowners in southeast Minnesota to explore landowners' orientation
towards stream stewardship and to discuss their experience with a number of
watershed and riparian programs designed to protect water quality and/or
stream health. Conversations were designed to identify issues that are
important to landowners for designing ongoing research, and to suggest
opportunities for improving existing conservation programs and their
delivery. Landowners expressed diverse concerns and orientations towards
various programs, but almost all identified farm policy, prices, and
pressures as the driving factors affecting the rural landscape and stream
quality. Landowners indicated that conservation programs have created good
conservation opportunities and options for landowners interested in
stewardship. In general, however, despite the growing demand for
environmental services and amenities, landowners felt that short-term
economic incentives and long-term trends are often at odds with increased
land stewardship and participation in many programs. Landowners attending
focus groups were knowledgeable about and interested in preventing soil
erosion on the landscape, but did describe conflicts or misunderstandings
with DNR on issues of bank erosion and riparian management. Landowners
participating in the trout stream easement program generally expressed
balanced to positive views of the program, with drawbacks related more to
conflicts with users of the easement than with DNR. Other issues of
concern included uncontrolled residential and urban development in
agricultural areas. For more information, contact:
Kristen Blann (klb@fw.umn.edu) PO Box 233 Merrifield, MN 56465
phone: (218)829-3053 fax: (218) 829-5239 cell: (218) 838-1902

MARTIN COUNTY WETLAND PLAN AND ORDINANCE: (From Mar. 4 Minnesota River
Weekly Update) Martin County is developing a wetland plan and ordinance that
will allow the county to protect remaining wetlands and to strategically
place restoration projects that may occur in the future. The plan and
ordinance will include a scoring system based on wetland functions and
values important to the county. This will allow the county to prioritize
existing wetlands and potential restoration sites.

According to the Martin County Water Plan, about 5% of the original wetlands
remain. Most of the wetlands were drained for agricultural production in
the late 1800s and early 1900s. Currently, most of the wetlands are type 3
(shallow marsh), type 1 (seasonally flooded), and type 7 (wooded swamp).
Approximately 12,700 acres are classified as wetlands.

A technical committee made up of members from federal, state and local
agencies; Corn and Soybean Growers; Pork Producers; local conservation
groups; Township officials; City of Fairmont; University of Minnesota
Extension; Planning Commission; County Board of Commissioners; Drainage
Administration; and the Highway Department is working together to develop
the scoring system, plan and ordinance. The technical committee will hold
its second of four meetings at the end of March. This planning process will
take about ten months. For more information, contact Becky Schlorf Von
Holdt, Martin County Water Planner at 507-238-3227. (Martin County
Environmental Services Fact Sheet)
WATERSHED HEROES CONFERENCE COMES TO MINNESOTA: For the past 6 years, the
Minnesota Farm Bureau along with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has
sponsored a team to the national "Watershed Heroes" conference at Amana,
Iowa. Starting this year, the national event begins a three-year stint in
Minnesota. The host farmers are Scott and Jenny Annexstad near Norseland.
In the very near future the American FB website will have all the details.
Check out http://mail.smumn.edu:81/redirect?http://www.fb.org/programs/waterheroes/

The workshops and housing will be at Gustavus Adolphus, and tours will
happen on June 19, or June 22. On-farm research and workshops will happen
June 20 and 21st. For more information, contact Mark Dittrich, MDA, at
651-296-1482.

NEW MCKNIGHT WEBSITE: The McKnight Foundation has launched a new website at
http://mail.smumn.edu:81/redirect?http://www.mcknight.org!

The site features nearly 80 grantee profiles, interactive program
snapshots, a research and evaluation learning lab, in-depth analysis of
Minnesota's hot issues, op-eds and speeches from McKnight's point of
view, and program-related pop quizzes.


RIVER-FRIENDLY FARMER PROGRAM ON WEB: Take a look at the River-Friendly
Farmer website at: http://mail.smumn.edu:81/redirect?http://www.extension.umn.edu
There have been subtle changes made to the checklist.

Forwarded from Allen Hance ahance@nemw.org:


UPPER MISS WEB SITE ENHANCED:
http://mail.smumn.edu:81/redirect?http://www.nemw.org/uppermiss.htm

The Northeast-Midwest Institute's Upper Mississippi River Basin webpage has
been updated. The page includes information about the Upper Mississippi
River Task Force, references to reports and fact sheets on natural resource
management issues in the UMRB, and links to federal and state agencies
and NGOs. Recently posted is a brief report on the president's recently
released budget, entitled "Fiscal 2003 Budget: Natural Resources and
Environment Programs in the Upper Mississippi River Basin."

HOLD IT OR DRAIN IT: Chapter Three of The Upper Basin Chronicles,
"Hold It or Drain It", is now available on the UMBSN web site,
http://mail.smumn.edu:81/redirect?http://www.umbsn.org.

In addition, you'll find recent news links from the upper basin, INCLUDING A
PAGE DEVOTED TO THE GREATER BLUFFLANDS FORUM, a link to
a World Watch Institute live online chat on Friday, March 8. Plus, just a
bit further down the page, you can enjoy one of Ding Darling's most famous
farmland cartoons.
For more information, contact : John Gabbert, Department of Resource
Analysis, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, at 507.457.6603 or email
jgabbert@smumn.edu

KARST WORKSHOPS: (ROCKS AND WATER: UNDERSTANDING MINNESOTA'S LIMESTONE
COUNTRY) The of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources are co-sponsoring this Ground Water
Education Project, funded through the US EPA Environmental Education
Program. Dates and locations are as follows:
* May 14 - Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro.
* May 15-16 - VFW-Zumbrota (includes half day field tour)
* May 21 - Minnesota Valley Regional Library, Mankato
* May 22-23 - Dakota County Conservation and Extension Center,
Farmington (includes half day field tour.)

These workshops are directed towards the population residing in the karst
(underlain by soluble rocks, chiefly limestone) region of Minnesota with the
purpose of enhancing their understanding of the vulnerability of ground
water resources in this sensitive geologic setting. This project also
intends to promote and facilitate, through education and discussions, the
adoption of decisions and practices at the local government and community
levels aimed at protection of the environment and human health in these
vulnerable areas.

For additional information on the workshops, please contact either of the
following MPCA staff:
Melanie Miland, 507/285-7151, melanie.miland@pca.state.mn.us or
Sandeep Burman, 651/296-7717, sandeep.burman@pca.state.mn.us.
Brochures and registration information will be available towards the end of
March 2002. Please contact Amy DeBruyckere at 507/285-7343
(amy.debruyckere@pca.state.mn.us) to be placed on a mailing list for the
brochures.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Nothing great or new can be done without enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm is the fly-wheel which carries your saw through the knots in the
log. A certain excessiveness seems a necessary element in all greatness."
Dr. Harvey Cushing.

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