11-25-1991 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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KW i 5 1991 Policy, Technical, and Citizen ’s ccting. The dates of these meetings i METROPOLITAN SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS Vohimt 8, Nufflbar 3 FALL 1991 URBAN UPDATE Metro Wetlands and the Wetland Conservation Act toy M. Nelton, BWSR Tht 1901 legislature passed the Wetlands Conserva tion Act (WCA). The act was necessary because there is a large pubHc value placed on wetlands and yet many waUandi seem to tal through the cracks" of protective regutalloa The WCA alms at protecting our existing wet land base through legal protection, financial Incentives, and (at the last resort.) mitigation. In tMa overview I wll touch on the Issues from the WCA that have the potentially largest effect on the Twin CWesarea. Clnce the WCA is dKMed into 11 Articles, l wto uee these articles as reference points In describing the WCA Article One: This articie Is devoted to policy and dascrites the public functiorts and values of wetlands. The articie also states that the WCA Is not intended to diminish any larvlowner rights regarding access or tmpMt. AmdaTWo: WaterMarwgementOrganIzatlonor- ganizallon plans must Identify high priorSy areas for wet- bnd presentation, enharwement. restoration, and estab- Nahmera. The Board of Water and Sol Resources (BWSRI wB develop^crlterla to determine the pt^ic valua of weUartds. these criteria wll be formulated through the stale ’s formal rulemaking process and wll ^|uUe the replacement of wetlands beginning July i. AiBde Three: This article describes the Permanent Welland Preserx ’-is Program. Under this program, a land- owner can apply to B\A^R to enroil a type 1.2. or 3 wet land and adjacent land In a permanent easement pro gram. Payinenl rates wW be based on the town^ equalized average astimated market value (Ef4V) of agrlnilural property for both agricuitutal lands and non- agrlciBural hnds within the seven county metropolitan area. The payment rate wll be 50 percent of EMV for agrlcultival larxf In the metropoTlian area. The rate will be 20 percent of EMV for non-agricultural land to be en- roled as a permarrera wetlarxi preserve. Artlele Four: This articie describes yet another pro gram, the Wetland Preservation Area Program. To be eliglile for this program. Umd must be in areas dsslg- rwlMf as high prtorly wetland areas. These high prurity wadand areas wB be Identified by your WMO pans and approved by the BWSR. Once an area has been desig nated as a high priority wetland area, wetlands within the area are elignie to be declared Wetland Preservation Areas. After a wetland preservation area is approved, land- ownere can enrol wetlands and adjacent knds and receive a tax exemption on these lands. A restrictive covenant Is placed on the enrolled land for at least eight years. Since this program affects property taxation, the county wB be Involved. The state will reimburse revenues lost to the county from the wetiand preserva tion areu. .continued on next page From the Chair by Dorothy Waltz, Chair, Dakota SWCD Wetlands - One Piece of the Puzzle |o.A personal experience; A tittie over ten years age my husbarxi and I bought 21/2 acres of land In Dakot.;- County for a homesite. Almost one acre of our land was part or a wetland with standing water throughout the spring and early summer every year. It was a great }iace for widiife, and we enjo^ the many varieties of }lrds erxl mammals who took advantage of It. During the decade that we have lived there, our wet land has changed- li*s r>ot a wet-land anymore. It’s dry land. Except In the wettest times of the year, we can walk across It without even getting our feet wet. Water- fowl no longer visit us, even during migration. Oh yes, It's stW Important habitat, and it stil slows down the runoff of heavy rains, and It probably stB does a good job of fikering out pcButants. But k’s rapldiy becoming sorrwthing other than a wettand. What has happened to our wetland - and what Is its signMcartce for this articie? Sad to say. the degradation of our own little wetland Is a metaphor for the entire wet lands story of the last few years. Wetlands are only one part of the much bigger conservation "puule." And without the rest of the puzzle pieces in place, our wet land has been losT even though It hasn't been filled or drained or paved over. That is the point of this article: Our wetiand has suffered because not enough attention is being paid to alt the pieces of the conservation puzzle. Our wetland is 'protected." Each of the five lan- ' vers who live around It has kept at least a 100 toot .. .tfer strip between the wetland and any cultivated (read feitlizer and pesticide use) lawn. The problem lies rtsewhere: Erosion from further up the watershed, which is in arK>ther city, arxl over which we have no con trol, has been allowed to deposit much sit in our wet land. Road and bikepath construction have added their load of sit and debris, thus contributing to the demise of our wetland. Just protecting the wetland itself was not enough. Erosion control and control of upland flooding were also needed. Is the same thing happening to the entire conserva tion "puzzle?" Have we as conservationists and environ mentalists arxi units of government become so wrapped up in protecting wetlands that we have forgotten that there Is much more to preserving our natural resour ces? It’s easy to get enthusiastic about wetlands - today’s lashioruble'' environmental cause. That's where the exciting ducks and the pretty songbirds and the endangered ^nts arel They're much "sexier* than plain oil dirt rurming off a field or erosion from a rww development choking the storm sewers before the first house has even been bull. Wetlarxls are certainly important. But so Is control ling sol erosion even when It's not right beside a wet land. So are reducing herbicide and pesticide runoff to protect water quality m our streams and rivers and lakes. And so are conservation tllage and windbreaks and reduced energy input and sediment basins and ter races arxl sit fences, even though some people may get tired of hearing us harp on them year after year. Success in the current "glamour" task -wetland protec tion - won’t be worth much unless we also keep promot ing all the other "old fashioned" conservation practices. In fact, as our own tittle wetlarxj shows, we will not even save our precious wetlands unless we also do all those other things too'