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Committee approves revision to conservation plan after CRP violation; owner to revegetate with trees
Summary
A Richland County conservation plan will change a violated perpetual grass filter strip easement to a riparian forest buffer; the landowner will cover implementation costs and staff approved the revised plan to send to the state monitoring authority.
The Richland County Land & Resources Committee on March 1 approved a revision to a conservation plan after monitoring found a perpetual grass filter strip easement planted in row crops.
Land conservation staff reported a monitoring visit found most of a perpetual easement that had been converted to cropland. The original conservation practice—a grass filter strip—was established under a conservation contract recorded in 2004, with a federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract that expired in about 2019–2020. Federal and state program administrators require monitoring for compliance after contract expiration; county staff determined the site was out of compliance.
Rather than returning the area to the original grass filter strip, the landowner proposed planting a riparian forest buffer to reduce the chance of future cropping and to support hunting and recreational use. County staff prepared an implementation plan following NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) standards and presented the proposal to the committee. The plan calls for tree planting (red pine and black walnut were identified by staff) and standard riparian buffer dimensions per NRCS practice standards. Staff reported the landowner has already purchased red pine seedlings and that the landowner’s son, who has a forestry degree, will manage the stand.
The committee approved the revision to the conservation plan and directed staff to forward the revised plan to the state administering authority for final approval; the committee noted that because this is a post‑contract change the landowner is responsible for implementation costs rather than receiving cost‑share reimbursement.
Committee members asked staff to ensure the riparian buffer design meets NRCS spacing and establishment standards and to include monitoring to ensure the site stays in compliance going forward. Staff said the plan will be sent to the state agency for final approval after committee action.
The committee’s action was procedural approval of a conservation‑plan revision; funding for tree purchases and planting is the landowner’s responsibility in this case because the change followed a compliance violation of a perpetual easement.
