By now, all landowners should be aware of the buffer law passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed into law by Governor Dayton in 2015 and amended in 2016.
Pending possible changes, buffers are now required on all lands adjoining "public waters" by November. The essential point of this portion of the buffer law is that permanent vegetation must be in place and be an average of 50 feet wide and no less than 30 feet wide over a landowner’s property adjoining designated public waters. Wright Soil and Water Conservation District staff members are available to answer questions and discuss available options and programs to meet this requirement.
Two of the most notable program options are the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, CREP. Either program can be used to establishment payments to seed these areas. The main difference between the programs is that CRP is a contract that will expire after 10 to 15 years, and enrollment in CREP results in an easement being taken on the land that will run into perpetuity.
The payments for the first years are basically the same, with an additional payment for CREP enrollment to secure the easement. A landowner will need to decide if he or she wishes to use one of these programs and which one would best suit their needs.
Currently, once the buffers are required the option to use either of these programs will no longer be available and the chance for payments on the specific public waters part of the programs will be gone.
To better explain, a landowner could use CRP to obtain payments for the next 15 years, enrolling at least a 30-foot-wide strip, but the landowner could go wider if desired. However, it would make sense to go wider to meet the requirements of the buffer law, especially if the area involved often drowns out or is hard to plant due to wetness.
After the contract expires, the area required to be in a "buffer" is no longer eligible for payments under either program, but any area put into a wider strip will revert back to the landowner unless re-enrolled. Payments are by township and based upon the average sale of land within that township.
A study of Wright County has shown that not a lot of land is out of compliance near public waters, but there is some. If you have property near a lake or stream that is designated public waters, the Wright SWCD encourages you to contact the office at 763-682-1970 and set up an appointment to talk about options and what the buffer law means to you and your land.
Kerry Saxton is the outgoing district manager for the Wright Soil and Water Conservation District.