Floodplain Easement Assistance
|  Video
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| Andrew Keller |
| 4/2/2009 |
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| The flooding has been highlighted as being a problem in the cities, but out in the country, it`s also a concern. There is a program that can assist farmers and ranchers with unsuitable land. With the long winter slowly coming to an end, these snow covered fields will soon be ready to farm. In some areas, the spring thaw has led to localized flooding. If you`re a farmer or rancher and you experience flooding in an area every year, listen up. "We`ve been authorized to purchase easements on land that have flooding concerns," says Todd Solem, NRCS District Conservationist. The Floodplain Easement Program is a portion of the Emergency Watershed Protection, all a part of President Obama`s American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009. It calls on the Natural Resources Conservation Service to purchase 99 year easements on acres of land that are near or on flood plains, land that isn`t ideal for farming or grazing. "Whatever land they want to put into the program. There`s some restrictions that come along with the easements, like farming it, we want to be able to get it back to permanent vegetation," Solem says. The Floodplain Easement Assistance has $145 million available nationwide, with $30 million available here in North Dakota. Now the NRCS is looking for those applicants. "This Emergency Watershed Program is not traditionally used here in Southwest North Dakota, we haven`t been blessed with too much water or cursed with too much water, but there may be some opportunities to use this program this year," says Solem. Solem says returning land to its natural state will help reduce erosion, cut down on sediment that enters lakes and streams and prevent future flooding... All this while enhancing fish and wildlife. The NRCS has extended the sign-up period until April 10 for funding available to eligible landowners. Contact your local NRCS office for more information. |
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