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Pawlenty promotes CREP plan Tuesday, October 21, 2003
From staff reports
Gov. Tim Pawlenty stopped in Sabin and Austin last week to announce the details of the state's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program application.
The application will be sent to the federal government for approval.
The proposal is the blending of three plans from the Red River Valley, southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Minnesota for a total of 100,000 acres.
"He was impressed with all three of the proposals," said Dan Wolter, a Pawlenty spokesman. "He thought all three were worthy recipients. Each area got about half of what they asked for, but it was a fairness issue. We were tapped at 100,000 total acres we could enroll in the state."
Pawlenty said southeastern Minnesota will get 42,500 acres in the program, the Red River Valley will get 42,500 and southwestern Minnesota will get 15,000, if the program is approved by the federal government and if the state comes up with $46 million.
That is the 20 percent of $230 million the state has to spend in order to get the remainder from the federal government.
Pawlenty is confident the funding will be approved.
"I would be astonished if the Legislature didn't approve it," he said.
Some farm groups are opposing the CREP proposal because it includes permanent land easements.
"Farm Bureau and several other agricultural organizations have encouraged the governor to avoid supporting permanent conservation easements and focus more on common-sense long-term easements," said Minnesota Farm Bureau president Al Christopherson.
The Minnesota Wheat and Barley Growers withdrew their support for the proposal because it includes permanent easements.
"We would support the substitution of long-term easements for the permanent easement option in the governor's CREP proposal," the association said in a press release.
The state hopes to get federal approval by the end of the year or early next year. |
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