Farmers and ranchers in the Devils Lake Basin who have land inundated by flooding may be eligible to enroll that land in the Wetlands Reserve Program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it has issued a memoran-dum of understanding with the state that reopens the WRP to basin landowners, according to Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who wrote the provision.
What it means is that farmers and ranchers who saw their land swallowed up by the natu-ral overflow of closed basin lakes, such as Devils Lake and Stump Lake, can apply to recoup damages under the WRP. USDA had suspended issuing contracts under the WRP after ques-tions of state interest in inundated land were raised by title insurance companies.
"I am glad this issue has been resolved," Conrad said. "I worked hard to include the Wet-lands Reserve Program provision in the Farm Bill back in 2008. Now landowners devastated by the flooding in the Devils Lake basin and surrounding regions will be able to take advan-tage of this relief program.
One of the issues raised at Monday's Devils Lake Summit, which brought together federal, state and local officials, was the loss of income to farmers and ranchers from flooded land. Officials at the time said an agreement was likely to be reached within the week.
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"It is not a solution for everyone, but it provides an option where none existed before," Conrad said.
The WRP is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Ser-vice provides technical and financial support to help landowners with wetland restoration.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send e-mail to kbonham@gfherald.com .
