Both Minnesota and Michigan are struggling to find state money to attract four times as much federal money to maximize their role in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). It's a great initiative that pays farmers to convert marginal cropland to wildlife habitat, while creating water quality buffers that protect streams and lakes. But the pauperizing of state government and unrelated phobias over "permanent conservation easements" -- essentially, using the government money to assure the affected land is never turned into subdivisions -- have kept the legislatures of both states from doing what they should. Govs. Granholm of Michigan and Pawlenty of Minnesota can make plenty of friends this month if they use their agenda-setting State of the State messages to push for full state matching funding.
A story on the Minnesota program:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/531/5163283.html
Posted by Dave at January 3, 2005 11:13 PM