MONROE - Land along the Sugar River near Albany and in the Avon Bottoms area south of Brodhead will be restored as floodplains with federal economic stimulus money, according to the Wisconsin United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) state office.
Six landowners near Albany and 12 in the Avon Bottoms have been accepted into the program.
The land will remain privately owned, but no development or drainage can be done, according to Alice Klink of the USDA. The landowner continues to pay property taxes for the land, which must be restored to a fully functioning floodplain to store and absorb floodwaters.
The restoration work will begin later this year. Restoration may involve filling ditches and removing dikes, breaking tiles and, in many cases, seeding and planting native trees and vegetation, Klink said.
The restoration will reconnect the Sugar River to its historic floodplain, Klink said.
"It will expand a unique, high quality forest and wetland complex for exceptional wildlife habitat and water quality improvement," she said.
The landowners' names and the dollar amounts each landowner will receive to be in the program will not be released until the final easement contracts are signed later this year.
The parcels of land range from 7 acres to 1,900 acres.
Over the past few years, the Sugar River has reached flood stage 10 times, with severe flooding in 2007 and 2008.
Renae Anderson, spokesperson at the Department of Agriculture, said the department was happy to see the support of landowners in the area.
"We had a good response from people in the area," she said.
The total acres of land near Albany and in the Avon Bottoms is about 3,150. About 4,700 acres were enrolled in the program across the state.
Wisconsin had 254 applications from landowners for 14,707 acres to be put into easements during the signup.
Money for the program was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The funding allows USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to acquire permanent easements on private land, or certain land owned by units of state and local governments, that have been damaged by flooding at least once in the past 12 months or twice in the past 10 years. Once the easements have been established, NRCS will fund conservation work necessary to restore the land to its natural state.Jeff Rogers 9/3/09
Six landowners near Albany and 12 in the Avon Bottoms have been accepted into the program.
The land will remain privately owned, but no development or drainage can be done, according to Alice Klink of the USDA. The landowner continues to pay property taxes for the land, which must be restored to a fully functioning floodplain to store and absorb floodwaters.
The restoration work will begin later this year. Restoration may involve filling ditches and removing dikes, breaking tiles and, in many cases, seeding and planting native trees and vegetation, Klink said.
The restoration will reconnect the Sugar River to its historic floodplain, Klink said.
"It will expand a unique, high quality forest and wetland complex for exceptional wildlife habitat and water quality improvement," she said.
The landowners' names and the dollar amounts each landowner will receive to be in the program will not be released until the final easement contracts are signed later this year.
The parcels of land range from 7 acres to 1,900 acres.
Over the past few years, the Sugar River has reached flood stage 10 times, with severe flooding in 2007 and 2008.
Renae Anderson, spokesperson at the Department of Agriculture, said the department was happy to see the support of landowners in the area.
"We had a good response from people in the area," she said.
The total acres of land near Albany and in the Avon Bottoms is about 3,150. About 4,700 acres were enrolled in the program across the state.
Wisconsin had 254 applications from landowners for 14,707 acres to be put into easements during the signup.
Money for the program was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The funding allows USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to acquire permanent easements on private land, or certain land owned by units of state and local governments, that have been damaged by flooding at least once in the past 12 months or twice in the past 10 years. Once the easements have been established, NRCS will fund conservation work necessary to restore the land to its natural state.Jeff Rogers 9/3/09