Legislators Look At Tougher Requirements To Protect Habitat

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lawmakers began consideration Tuesday of one of Gov. Mark Dayton's top environmental initiatives, a requirement for farmers to leave larger buffer areas along drainage ditches and other waterways to improve wildlife habitat.

Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, the chairman of the environmental committee considering the bill, said it has "broad support and broad opposition as we try to get it to a point that will work."

Hunting, fishing and environmental groups support the idea. But the state's two largest agricultural groups oppose the bill in its current form due to the loss of tillable land and other impacts on farmers, such as potential heavy fines for noncompliance.

Dayton's proposal would require farmers to leave 50 feet of perennial vegetation such as grass or alfalfa between their crops and nearby drainage ditches, streams, ponds and lakes to trap fertilizers, pesticides and sediments before they reach the water. The buffers would also provide habitat for pheasants and other wildlife. The Department of Natural Resources would enforce the rules.

Minnesota's current minimums call for filter strips of 16.5 feet along public drainage ditches and 50 feet along shorelines on designated waters. Enforcement is left up to counties, and it's sporadic at best.

The committee planned to reconvene Tuesday evening. No vote was expected, but the panel planned to take testimony from state officials, farm groups, conservationists and environmentalists. Among them was DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr, who said in an interview that while he expects the Legislature to approve some kind of buffer legislation this session, it probably will get a heavy rewrite.

"I would be surprised if it didn't come out looking different, but hopefully the core of it will stay intact," Landwehr said.

Lobbyists Thom Petersen of the Minnesota Farmers Union and Doug Busselman of the Minnesota Farm Bureau both said their groups oppose the bill in its current form. They said they'd rather work with the existing law, and that they consider the flat 50-foot setback an arbitrary one-size-fits-all approach.

But Don Arnosti of the Izaak Walton League of America and John Lenczewski of Minnesota Trout Unlimited said they consider the bill a good start. Lenczewski said most farmers probably already comply to qualify for federal farm bill programs, so the new requirements shouldn't be as scary or as subject to abuse as they might fear.

The proposal stirred divisions even within the Dayton administration. Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson had objections when Dayton first outlined the proposal in January but said in an interview that he supports the bill as drafted. He said he considered the 50-foot rule a starting point, and that some exceptions will be allowed.

"I think it's a good opportunity for Minnesotans, Minnesota farmers and ranchers, to say: 'We want to do the right thing,'" Frederickson said.

Landwehr acknowledged that the proposal would require farmers to change the way they currently do business. But he said there's an "extraordinary buffet" of programs available to compensate them for the loss of tillable land, such as the federal Conservation Reserve Program. He said landowners could still cut hay or graze livestock on their buffers, and use them for turning machinery around. And they wouldn't be required to allow hunters access to the land.

A Senate environment committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the bill Thursday.

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