County certifies Fish and Wildlife habitat easement for Acoma Township property, pending drainage-easement verification

On Sept. 16, 2025, the McLeod County Board of Commissioners voted to certify a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service request to place roughly 12 acres owned by Mark Schnoebrik in Section 3 of Acoma Township into a permanent habitat easement, contingent on staff verification that a recorded drainage easement affecting the property exists.

The certification matters because the easement would extend protections around an existing wetland basin and could affect maintenance access for drainage infrastructure used by adjacent landowners. Nathan Paylor, a realty specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency and the landowner were seeking the board’s certification of the property into Fish and Wildlife’s easement program.

Paylor described the proposal as a habitat easement around an already-protected wetland basin. Landowner Mark Schnoebrik told the board he purchased the property from a prior owner who had, in the 1980s, placed a permanent wetland protection covenant on the slough on the property. Schnoebrik said he has grazed and hayed the land in the past and that the easement would protect grasslands around the wetland.

Several commissioners focused on drainage and tile lines. Commissioners and the landowner identified two neighboring property owners, Andy Rasmussen (to the south) and Jay Macadence (to the west), and discussed a tile line in the northwest corner that drains toward a slough. Schnoebrik reported that Fish and Wildlife and the neighboring landowners have discussed drainage and that, in his view, no neighbors objected; he said one neighbor visited the property with him and walked the site.

County officials stressed the need to preserve the ability of adjacent landowners to repair and maintain drainage infrastructure. A county attorney advised the board that the board could condition certification on verification that any drainage agreement is recorded and remains effective. A commissioner moved to approve certification on the condition that county staff confirm the existence and filing of the drainage easement; the board voted in favor of that motion.

What happens next: the county will require documentation confirming the recorded drainage-easement agreement before staff finalize certification paperwork. Paylor and Schnoebrik told the board that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is the federal partner for the permanent easement and that Schnoebrik will continue to pay property taxes on the land and can continue grazing operations, per the easement terms discussed at the meeting.

Board members also noted the landowner indicated a timing window for the Fish and Wildlife appropriation process; the county did not receive a specific deadline date from Fish and Wildlife during the meeting.