CHAPTER III-8

VOLUNTARY AGRICULTURE LAND USE CONVERSION PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION

The rich, fertile soil and gentle slopes typical of floodplain areas in northeastern Indiana are good for agricultural production and often attributed to high crop yields.  In an effort to maximize crop production, some farmers till and plant to the edge of natural watercourses and regulated drains.  During a flood, the highly productive floodplain may be inundated for an extended period of time resulting in significant crop losses and where streambanks have been exposed there may be significant erosion.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has established a number of natural resource Conservation Programs to assist landowners reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damages caused by floods and other natural disasters.  For the most part, these programs allow the landowner to continue to own the property.  In exchange for monitory compensation, a conservation easement, with use restrictions, is placed on the property.  In Northeastern Indiana there are a number of land trusts willing to acquire land for conservation through fee simple purchase or donation.  These include: ACRES Land Trust, Inc., Blue Heron Ministries, Trillium Land Trust, Nature Conservancy, Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D, among other land trusts.  Typical with a land trust, ownership of the property is transferred entirely to the land trust and use restrictions applied. 

This Master Plan Update allows the MRBC to continue to work within the existing NRCS Conservation Programs and Land trusts to successfully restore the important form and function of floodplains to reduce flooding and improve water quality.  

1995 MASTER PLAN REVISITED

The 1995 MRBC Master Plan identified flood losses in agricultural areas and recommended converting the land in these areas from traditional agricultural use to flood tolerant woodland, wetlands, park corridors, or flood tolerant crops.   The intent of MRBC was to support, promote, and fund land acquisition, flowage easements, and land set-aside programs available to landowners through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Conservation Reserve and Conservation Easement Programs (CRP and CEP), USDA’s Wetland Reserve Program, US Fish & Wildlife Wetland Restoration Program, or other compatible programs funded and/or supported by the MRBC.  

In 1995, MRBC estimated that 32,000 acres of cropland would be flooded by the 1% annual chance flood.  For the 20% annual chance flood, approximately 14,000 acres of cropland are expected to sustain damage.  Based on 1995 land values, MRBC estimated that floodplain acquisition costs would range from $500 to $1,500 per acre.  The 1995 Master Plan recommended focusing efforts on the area being flooded by the more frequent 20% annual chance flood event.

The change in agricultural land use was to be achieved through:

  • Land use regulations or zoning changes;
  • Acquisition of land either through donation or by the fee simple purchase;
  • Purchase of flowage easements in the floodplain area;
  • Land set-aside; and
  • Conversion to alternative flood-tolerant crops.

MRBC acknowledged that successful implementation would depend on soil conditions, property location in relation to existing or planned parks, open space or woodland corridors, erosion potential, drainage considerations, and an owner’s willingness to participate.

MRBC ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In March 1997, MRBC developed a Voluntary Agricultural Areas Land Use Conversion Cost-Share Assistance Program (a copy of this document can also be found in Appendix F).  This document included information on eligibility, landowner application procedures, selection process, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring requirements.  As part of this program, landowners were able to participate in 1 of the following:

  • Floodplain Land Acquisition – MRBC facilitated the transfer of the title of flood prone agricultural land to a land trust or a land-holding agency.  The transfer included either fee simple purchase ($1,500/acre maximum) or land donation.  Once the title has been transferred, the land trust or land-holding agency became the sole proprietor of the property and responsible for the long-term management and monitoring of the property.     
  • Floodplain Conservation Easements – in exchange for monitory compensation, landowners are required install vegetative filter strip ($750/acre maximum) within the portion of the floodplain that is immediately adjacent to the streambanks.  Additional monitory compensation was provided for converting the remaining portion of floodplain area into restored wetlands or woodlands ($300/acre maximum), as appropriate.  The land remains in private ownership, granting only certain rights within the recorded easement.       

To be eligible for the Agricultural Land Use Conversion Cost-Share Assistance Program, MRBC required:

  1. A significant portion of the property must be within the 1% annual chance regulatory floodplain or other known flood hazard area.  Preference given to land more frequently flooded (20% annual chance floodplain);
  2. Property must be located within the Maumee River Basin jurisdictional area in Indiana;
  3. Property must be comprised of suitable terrain including slopes, soil types and other physical factors appropriate for each type of alternative program, as determined by the Local Program Coordinator (LPC)/MRBC; and
  4. County, town, and city within which the property is located must have already adopted both the Flood Hazard Areas and Storm Drainage Ordinances.  These ordinances must meet the minimum MRBC model ordinance requirements.

MRBC has secured several tracts of land along the St. Joseph River upstream of Fort Wayne and placed a 30-year conservation easement on them to help protect the riparian corridor and improve water quality.

2008 MASTER PLAN ENHANCEMENTS

There are no plans, at this time, to update the MRBC Voluntary Agriculture Land Use Conversion Program.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The MRBC should:

  1. Continue to network with, and collaborate on, conservation projects with local SWCD, NRCS, ACRES Land Trust, Inc., Blue Heron Ministries, Trillium Land Trust, Nature Conservancy, Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D, US Fish & Wildlife, for example.

  2. Continue to identify and provide cost-share match to landowners in the Maumee River Basin (Indiana portion) willing to participate in land use conversion programs.

  3. Consider expanding the land use conversion program beyond agricultural land uses to include landowners of large undeveloped floodplain areas or smaller contingent parcels of interested landowners.

  4. Conduct an inventory of the riparian corridors of the Maumee River, St. Joseph River, and St. Marys River.  Seek participation of contiguous landowners to maximize water quality and quantity benefits.  

 

MRBC Master Plan - Voluntary Agriculture Land Use Conversion Program