Groundbreaking for new CREP wetland

On July 27, a group of local and state conservation workers gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the establishment of a CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) wetland in Wright County.

The new wetland, which will be located in section 34 of Norway Township, is set to start construction in August and be finished by the end of the year. Drainage in the area won’t be negatively affected, and Bruce Voigts, coordinator for the Eagle Creek nutrient reduction strategy, was even hopeful that it might improve.

Mike Naig, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, attended the groundbreaking, and thanked the group for all their efforts to forward the project and improve water quality. He also said that projects like this couldn’t work without the help of willing landowners. “That’s where it all starts,” he said.

The property that is being transformed into the wetland is owned by Chuck Smoldt and Roger and Dorothy Burras. Members of both families wielded the shovels for the symbolic groundbreaking.

Just over 1,000 acres of land drain into the 55-acre site. Wright County’s CREP wetland will have an average pool depth of 2 feet, though the deepest spot will be about 13 feet directly in front of the weir, with a total pool size of 13.1 acres. If proved to be 70 percent efficient at removing nitrates, the wetland’s effect will be equivalent to keeping the nitrates from 842 acres of cropland out of surface water permanently.

 

For the full story, see the August 4 edition of the Monitor.

Wright County Monitor

P.O. Box 153
Clarion, IA 50525
Phone: 515-532-2871
Email: news@wrightcountymonitor.com

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