A 16-foot strip of natural grass planted next to a river or field ditch would greatly reduce pollutants entering waterways, says Clearwater River Watershed District manager Bob Schiefelbein. The watershed managers have unanimously agreed to form a committee to create a pilot project that would encourage farmers, possibly with an incentive, to plant natural grasses next to waterways. “If we can get farmers to put any type of buffer next to a ditch it would be a great improvement to the current practices,” Schiefelbein said. Many farmers plow right up to the water’s edge, not knowing that doing so can increase soil erosion and allows pollutants from storm water and fertilizer to enter water sources without any filtering. Watershed managers at their meeting Wednesday, Feb. 18, discussed possible project strategies. Ideally, the managers would like to see all ditches, creeks and rivers have 16 to 52 feet of grass inland from the edge of the water. “Even if the farmers mowed the grass, it would be better than what we have now,” said CRWD Board president Roland Froyen. CRWD administrator Merle Anderson proposed several possible ideas, even including a state subsidy program, like the feedlot program, but the board tentatively agreed on local action in which the board would supply seed for 100 acres of land and a $100 one-year land subsidy. The managers would also like to have farmers agree to a 10-year project timeline. “There would be an annual cost of $30,000 to the watershed,” Anderson said. “We would provide $10,000 of that for water monitoring.” The approach of allowing farmers to harvest the grass for straw bedding is a new concept. The soil next to ditches and rivers is usually quite fertile and watershed managers expect it will be challenging to convince many farmers to adopt clean water practices that would eliminate these areas from farming. “It would be worth much, but it would be better than us proposing that they don’t do anything with it,” Schiefelbein said. Farmers could even plant alfalfa next to the grass next to the water, then another strip of grass next to the alfalfa. “Alfalfa really takes out phosphorus from runoff,” Schiefelbein said. The managers asked Schiefelbein to work out some details and even meet with politicians to see if a state program could be created.
