79 



— 10 — 



Wetlands Conservation. Management and Restoration Plans 



Farm Bureau is very concerned about the implication for a watershed/wetland 

 management plan. Specifically, it provides no mechanism for compensation for 

 the loss of private property rights, it could also add requirements for individual 

 Section 404 permits for all activity within a watershed unit (land-use 

 planning). If so, this requirement extends Section 404 permitting activity 

 beyond jurisdictional wetlands. 



Many farmers currently maintain as many as a dozen separate resource 

 management plans. These management plans involve soil conservation, ground 

 and surface water quality, animal waste, wetlands, and activities within 

 coastal zones. These efforts, required by legislation, are very time consimiing, 

 confusing and redtmdant. We believe proposals mandating management plans 

 for clean water, wetlands, coastal zone, conservation, etc., should be 

 consolidated. However, Farm Bureau is concerned that such efforts will be 

 interpreted by the administration and the courts as a congressional mandate 

 for land-use planning and, therefore, result in the regulation of all activity 

 within a watershed. Farm Bureau is opposed to central or national land-use 

 planning. 



Farm Bureau recommends Congress explore the proposal included in Vice 

 President Gore's reinventing government report that calls for a consolidation of 

 various environmental management plans into one farm plan. We believe one 

 management plan, established from among affected private landowners within 

 a specific watershed or management unit, will streamline and enhance 

 agriculture's conservation and environmental quality efforts. We believe 

 wetlands management should be part of the plan, but only as wetlands relate 

 to water quality, not a separate and possibly conflicting document. Farm 

 Bureau strongly recommends the development of this concept by the 

 agricultural committees in conciliation with other appropriate environmental 

 committees of Congress. These committees have an orientation in production 

 agriculture and would be better equipped to balance economic growth in the 

 farm sector with environmental improvement. Ultimately, efforts undertaken 

 by Congress should endeavor to allow the proposed management plan to be 

 voluntary and supported by financial incentives. Efforts to increase the 

 quantity and quality of wetlands should remain voluntary and be based on 

 their contribution to water quality standards and overall environmental quality 

 as both relate to human health and safety. 



