A recent Des Moines Register article made a passing note on Linn County’s purchase of 500 acres for 7.2 million dollars.  A Linn County supervisor seems to be quoted as calling the purchase an investment in “conservation.”  Conservation is a broad term.  It could mean a lot of things.  The trouble is the article continues with a direct quote from the supervisor on what the purchase is meant to stem.  “They {residents} go to lakes and find them covered in algae.”

Most of the time numbers are numbers.  Sometimes they get personal.

As a commissioner on the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation Board, we oversee state cost-share funds for conservation on the county’s 359,680 acres.  These are the funds local farmers and landowners will match to establish waterways, build terraces, and construct ponds.  This year the amount of state cost-share we will be in charge of spending will be somewhere around $110,000.  The Linn County purchase could fund our county cost-share for 65 years.

In fact the Linn County purchase comes is very close to funding the 7.5 million dollar state budget for cost-share programs in 2016.  In the state’s case, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship notes that Iowa farmers matched it with 8.7 million, giving a total investment of 16.2 million.

I serve as a trustee of the local Badger Creek Watershed.  The County Soil and Water Conservation District is in charge of maintenance and improvement of numerous structures and investments previously made in the watershed’s 33,581 acres.  Our annual budget to do so is $84,942.  The Linn County purchase would fund that budget for 85 years.

It is a shame the Register article makes only a passing note of the Linn County purchase.  The real story, the one most uncomfortable to read, is that some might think spending 7.2 million for 500 acres is a feasible way to measurably improve water quality across the state.  It might be laughable, if it weren’t so sad.

Just two days ago I was the Iowa Statehouse to visit with my legislators about Iowa Farm Bureau’s number one legislative priority:  finding a larger, dedicated source for soil and water conservation funding.  This is the funding that will increase in value by being matched by the state’s residents.  I think this is the funding that will continue making measurable progress in soil and water conservation as we adapt to the challenges of today and look ahead to tomorrow.  I’m sure the 7.2 million Linn County spent will make a fine park.