CREP enrollment gains momentum

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Enrollment in the Minnesota River Watershed Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program project gained momentum during the summer giving Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources officials hope for full enrollment by Sept. 30, 2002.

"It's definitely picking up as more and more farmers become acquainted with the program," said Tom Fischer of Lake Crystal, board conservationist. "The addition of staff to market the program has been extremely helpful, and we're seizing every opportunity to get our message to farmers."

That's why BWSR had a booth at the Riverblast festival at Riverside Park this weekend. A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources booth at the Green Expo Saturday at Vogel Arena hawked the CREP project, as well.

Latest tabulation of acreage enrolled, as of Aug. 27, shows a total of 54,260.9 acres in the 34 counties with eligible acreage which comprise the Minnesota River watershed.

Fischer noted that 8,000 acres were added in July and 4,000 acres in August. The June total was 42,237 acres.

Then, when the acres for which application has been made and completed or are pending at local Soil Conservation District offices are added, Fischer said, that boosts the enrolled acreage to 74,524.6.

"That means we have only 25,000 acres to enroll to reach the 100,000 acre goal by September of next year," Fischer said. "I think we're going to do it."

But, Jeff Nielsen of New Ulm, southern region supervisor of BWSR, cautions against considering it a slam dunk.

"We have found that farmers are more likely to devote acreage to conservation when the economy is good than when it isn't," Nielsen said. "So we can't take anything for granted. That's why we're pushing so hard to get the acreage enrolled."

Nielsen said the original plan called for enrolling 190,000 acres in the project. However, as it moved through the legislative process, total enrollment was scaled back to its present 100,000 acres.

"So, we know the need is there for the 100,000 acres and more, and we're hopeful that having attained the goal, we can go back and ask for an extension of the project to an additional 90,000 acres," Nielsen explained.

Nielsen acknowledged, however, that the extension would have to be presented as a new project, a CREP II, and that it could be a tough sell because of the need for CREP in other river watersheds.

With the official enrollment figure hanging at 54,000-plus, the state's investment in the program, figured at $720 an acre, stands at $39,461,228.76. Easements purchased total 1,348.

"That's good money for the farmers," said Paul Davis, Brown County water planner and recycling coordinator. "It's certainly something that farmers should consider seriously. But, if a farmer is looking to get as much out of his land as he can, he's not going to be very receptive to taking land out of production.

"Still, if he's trying to farm land that floods frequently, as it now seems to be doing, he should take a good look at CREP because that's the kind of land the program is designed for."

Not surprisingly, Chippewa County which borders the river between Appleton and Granite Falls leads all other counties in acreage enrollment with 5,514.1 acres in 107 easements. The state's investment there totals $4,446,552.96.

In Brown County, 2,069.7 acres, in 52 easements, are enrolled with a state investment of $1,760,579.66. Nicollet County's enrollment totals 980 acres in 22 easements, representing a state cost of $753,082.24.

Fischer reminds farmers that CREP includes wetland restoration acres. While the majority of enrolled acreage -- 28,892.6 acres -- is in riparian or perpetual easements, wetland restoration easement acreage totals 23,900.8.