The Problem With Wetlands

The Problem With Wetlands CROPS Miscellaneous Iowa Farmer Today recently reported on Illinois lawyer Kurt Wilke of Springfield about a client he represented who bought 80 acres of cropland setting in motion a 5-year battle with the NRCS over a wetland designation The case resulted in more than $100 000 of legal expenses Before buying the land the farmer consulted with the land’s drainage district in central Illinois and with the USDA to confirm that there were no wetlands on the property After buying the land and finding a couple wet spots he decided to put in new drainage tile That’s when he got a visit from NRCS informing him that the 80-acre plot had 22 4 acres of wetlands that could not be farmed They noted that by law any farmland converted from wetlands after Dec 23 1985 cannot be farmed or drained To be designated a wetland 3 conditions must be present: hydric soils such as Drummer Pella Peotone or Lena ; wetland plants such as foxtail sedges willow smartweed milkweed thistles or rushes; and ponded water for 7 days or more or saturated soil for 15 days or more The legal battle hinged on that definition of a wetland However critics say those criteria can be subjective and both sides brought in experts who disagreed In the end the farmer won the case because the judge determined the land had been converted to farming before 1985 He is now working with his attorney to be reimbursed for legal fees

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