MADISON - Time is running short, but producers with flood prone land can apply for federal stimulus package money to establish an easement on that land. Land qualifies if it has been flooded at least once in the past 12 months, or twice in the past 10 years, and it must be in a floodplain. Landowners may sign up for the program until March 27.
With the easement, landowners can continue to use the land, but without cropping, building or further manipulating the floodplain. Landowners may enjoy quiet recreational activities including hunting and fishing, and private access, and will be responsible for property taxes at use value. The goal is to acquire floodplain easements on eligible lands and to restore their floodplain function and value to natural conditions.
The program signup has come about quickly with recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is using Recovery Act dollars to update aging flood control structures, protect and maintain water supplies, improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, and create jobs. NRCS can acquire easements and restore floodplains to safeguard lives and property in areas that have experienced flooding.
NRCS wants to allocate the money quickly to help put people to work, to help farmers who continually fight flooding on cropland, and to reduce the potential downstream damages from flooding.
Signup is underway until March 27. Interested landowners should contact the NRCS office at the USDA Service Center for their county. More information is available at www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov.
With the easement, landowners can continue to use the land, but without cropping, building or further manipulating the floodplain. Landowners may enjoy quiet recreational activities including hunting and fishing, and private access, and will be responsible for property taxes at use value. The goal is to acquire floodplain easements on eligible lands and to restore their floodplain function and value to natural conditions.
The program signup has come about quickly with recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is using Recovery Act dollars to update aging flood control structures, protect and maintain water supplies, improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, and create jobs. NRCS can acquire easements and restore floodplains to safeguard lives and property in areas that have experienced flooding.
NRCS wants to allocate the money quickly to help put people to work, to help farmers who continually fight flooding on cropland, and to reduce the potential downstream damages from flooding.
Signup is underway until March 27. Interested landowners should contact the NRCS office at the USDA Service Center for their county. More information is available at www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov.
