Contact: Josh Van Den Berg
651-508-0000
Editor’s Note: BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke will be available to answer media questions Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at a 9:30 a.m. conference call. Dial 888-742-5095, conference code 598 975 7310.
St. Paul, Minn.
Today, the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources announced two additional resources for landowners working to come into compliance with the state’s buffer law. The law, which was passed with bipartisan support in 2015 and signed into law by Governor Dayton, requires the implementation of a buffer strip on public waters by November 1, 2017 and a buffer on public drainage ditches by November 1, 2018.
These additional resources, both financial and found online, are designed to help landowners be successful in complying with the law.” explained John Jaschke, Executive Director BWSR. “Local SWCDs and landowners have been working together over the past 18 months and, we are making great progress with 64 counties already 60-100% compliant.”
COST-SHARE PROGRAM
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources has approved a new buffer cost-share program, allocating almost $5 million dollars to support landowners in meeting the requirements of the state buffer law.
The funds will be distributed to soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) and are to be used for cost-sharing contracts with landowners or their authorized agents to implement riparian buffers or alternative practices on public waters and public drainage ditches.
These Clean Water Funds, passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Dayton at the end of the 2017 legislative session, provide important support to the Governor’s Buffer Initiative.
The 2017 legislation also recognizes that some landowners may have hardships (such as weather) in meeting the public waters deadline. The added language allows for an eight-month extension for implementation when a landowner or authorized agent has filed a riparian protection “compliance plan” with their local SWCD by November 1, 2017. Compliance waivers offer a buffer deadline extension until July 1, 2018.
NEW ONE-STOP WEBSITE
Minnesota landowners with questions about compliance waivers and other buffer topics also have another option available today with the launching of a new one-stop website for information and tips to implement the buffer law. The new site, mn.gov/buffer-law, is a user-friendly and convenient resource for landowners and the public to learn about the law, find answers about alternative practices, and get information about financial and technical assistance and more.
The new buffer site, launched by the State of Minnesota is found at mn.gov/buffer-law. For more information on the buffer law, including the cost-share program, contact your local soil and water conservation district.
COMPLIANCE
Soil and Water Conservation Districts have been hard at work with landowners statewide and progress toward compliance is being made. 64 of Minnesota’s 87 counties are 60 – 100 percent in compliance with the buffer law. Statewide, preliminary compliance with the buffer law is 89%.
Contact: Celi Haga
651-315-5082
St. Paul, Minn. —The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) released an additional common alternative practice today that expands options for water quality solutions that provide comparable benefits to a buffer strip. The updated Common Alternative Practices guidance now includes practices for public ditches located in Glacial Lake Plain areas.
“These very flat lake plain areas of the state have their own set of challenges. BWSR, landowners and local conservation partners have come together to identify an alternative practice in these unique areas,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said. “The buffer law’s flexibility provides options for landowners to accomplish water quality improvement practices that meet the purpose of the law on landscapes where buffers aren’t the best fit.”
Introduced in April 2017, The Common Alternative Practices guidance offers options for landowners and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to consider, including:
1. Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
2. USDA Practice Standard Filter Strip
3. Grassed Waterway on Public Waters
4a. Negative Slope on Public Ditches
4b. Glacial Lake Plain Areas Public Ditches
5. Negative Slope on Public Waters
6. Buffer plus Conservation Tillage
Under Minnesota’s buffer law, landowners can use alternative practices with comparable water quality benefits to buffers. SWCDs have the authority to validate these practices and are working with landowners to find the best solutions for their land. BWSR’s role is to provide program guidance and support and ensure local government consistency. Alternative practices are not limited to the options in the Common Alternative Practices guidance. Other combinations of practices, based in the Natural Resources Conservation Service Field Office Technical Guide, can be developed in partnership with SWCDs. In addition, the BWSR Board may consider additional alternative practices to provide more options for SWCDs and landowners to develop solutions to fit their land and their needs in the coming months. With less than six months to go until the November 2017 public waters deadline, 64 of Minnesota’s 87 counties are 60-100% in compliance with the buffer law.
For more information
More information on the buffer program, including more detailed information on alternative practices and the variety of technical and financial assistance available to help landowners with implementation, can be found at BWSR’s website: www.bwsr.state.mn.us/buffers.
Contact: Celi Haga
651-315-5082
A Milestone for Conservation in Minnesota
St. Paul, Minn. - Landowners have a new option to protect their environmentally sensitive cropland with the introduction of the Minnesota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (MN CREP). The kick-off for the MN CREP continuous sign-up begins May 15, 2017.
MN CREP is a voluntary state-federal program designed to improve water quality and habitat conservation. It will protect and restore up to 60,000 acres of marginal cropland across 54 southern and western Minnesota counties, using buffer strips, wetland restoration, and drinking water wellhead protection.
Native plantings on those acres will filter water, prevent erosion, and provide critical habitat for countless grassland species including badgers, meadowlarks, and monarch butterflies.
“This is a milestone in conservation for Minnesota,” according to John Jaschke, Executive Director of the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). “It targets the most critical acres and will provide water quality and habitat benefits for generations.”
The program is funded with approximately $350 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and $150 million needed from state sources including: Clean Water Fund, Outdoor Heritage Fund, Capital Investment (bonding), and the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. MN CREP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and BWSR, but involves numerous partners including Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Health, and Pollution Control Agency, as well as local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff. MN CREP is also supported by a coalition of more than 70 state and national organizations and groups.
“Minnesota is at a crossroads in conservation,” said Jaschke. “The state is facing serious water quality challenges and we’re losing hundreds of thousands of acres of grassland through expiring CRP. MN CREP isn’t the whole answer, but it plays an important role in addressing both of these issues.”
Landowners who are accepted in MN CREP will enroll in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 14-15 years. At the same time, the land will be put into a permanent conservation easement through the state’s Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) easement program. Private ownership continues and the land is permanently restored and enhanced for water quality and habitat benefits.
“This program helps producers with the land that needs protecting so they can farm their best, most productive acres,” explained Michelle Page, Minnesota Acting State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency. “We encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Landowners wanting to learn more about MN CREP can contact their local FSA/Natural Resources Conservation Service/SWCD office. They can also visit www.bwsr.state.mn.us/crep.