Interim Committee Reviews State of Working Lands
The Natural Resources Interim Committee convened July 31st. The agenda devoted the majority of the day to House Concurrent Resolution 18 (HCR 18), adopted in the 2009 legislative session. The Idaho Legislature requested that the Interim Committee “gather information from interested groups and existing resources regarding the extent of conversion of working forests, ranches and farms to other uses”.
The Idaho Working Lands Coalition reviewed existing information resources about working lands during the morning segment of the agenda. The presentation highlighted major topics contained in the Working Lands Bibliography, an on-line reference document available to the Interim Committee members and staff, as well as the general public. The material includes reports covering the topics of land conversion, economic contribution of working lands, financial impacts of land use conversion, wildlife habitat considerations, and examples of public policies adopted by other states to retain working lands. The Coalition described policies from five states as examples for the Interim Committee to consider in their review of working lands. Each of the five states currently provides financial incentives to private landowners through partial financing of voluntary conservation agreements. Three states reported an objective to match external sources of funding. The legislation from the five states differed in the revenue source, the criteria to prioritize lands eligible for the incentive, and the management or administration of the program. Revenue sources implemented in the policies include: non-resident license fees for fishing and hunting, annual legisliatve appropriation from the general fund, a permanent fund that combines legislative appropriations with taxpayer donations, a voter approved statewide conservation bond, and a transferable state income tax credit.
In addition to the review of existing information resources, three Coalition members addressed the Committee concerning the status of forest, ranch and farm landowners in their respective region of Idaho. Kristin Troy spoke for ranchers in the Lemhi Valley Region; these landowners foresee the negative impact of private ranchland fragmentation. Kennon McClintock described the pressure on private landowners to sell productive forestland for alternative uses. A Fremont County potato farmer, Emma Atchley, discussed the positive impact of financial incentives; the outcome retains a rural economic heritage for the community while contributing to a public benefit through stewardship of wildlife habitat.
Jeff Burwell, State Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), described Farm Bill programs available to private landowners. The NRCS encourage sustainable practices through the services the agency provides to 27,000 landowners in Idaho. Three easement programs – Farm Protection, Wetland Reserve, and Grassland Reserve – have partially financed 63 conservation easements on 12,500 acres. Jeff Burwell noted that the funding available is less than the demand from landowners to participate. For example, the Grassland Reserve Program engages landowners in contracts with a duration of 15, 20 or 30 years. The 2009 program funding is only $400,000 for the entire state. These term agreements, as well as perpetual easements of the Farm Bill programs, require a local match to the federal funding.
HCR 18 encouraged Idaho state resource agencies to provide information and recommendations. In the afternoon , the Departments of Fish and Game, Agriculture, Lands, and the Office of Species Conservation offered their perspectives and insights. The Idaho state agencies administer several programs that conserve private working lands. The Department presentations cover the range of state functions and existing programs. Among the activities described to the Interim Committee, the programs designed to retain working lands through financial incentives included: IDL’s Forest Legacy Program; Office of Species Conservation adminsitration of two fisheries related funding sources for conservation easements; and Idaho Fish and Game’s efforts to fully fund a Land Legacy Trust.
A summary of OSC easement projects (Figure 1) is an example of constraints typical to all programs, regardless of agency. The OSC presentation reviewed five recent working ranch easements. Two different federal programs finance up to 75% of the voluntary agreement between the private ranch owner and OSC: Snake River Basin mitigation funds (3 easements), and the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (2 easements). The bar chart reports the OSC funding source at the large bar at the base of the stack for each easement. The source of matching funds vary for each of the five agreements, and those sources include: private contributions, foundations (other), and landowner contribution. For the landowner who choses to pursue a volunatry agreement, the process is lengthy, and the uncertainty of matching funds can be a deterrant to participation. A state policy to allocate matching dollars annually would add stability to the exisitng programs and stimulate participation by private landowners.
Figure 1: Recent Working Ranch Easement Funding Sources
To review the details of the material presented to the Interim Committee from the state agencies , as well as the Working Lands Overview: Read More>>
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