Easement protects farm and nature

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Thanks to an unusual partnership between two conservation organizations and the federal government, a conservation easement near Decorah now protects 716 acres of agricultural diversity, rare plants and wildlife species, cold-water trout streams and more.

The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and Seed Savers Exchange, are working with the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service to place a federal Farmland Protection Program (FPP) easement on Seed Savers' Twin Valleys Farms. At 716 acres, Twin Valleys is a recent addition to Seed Savers' 170-acre Heritage Farms, located about five miles north of Decorah. INHF is a conservation organization that protects Iowa's land, water and wildlife, while Seed Savers protects the genetic diversity of America's garden plants.

As part of the arrangement, Seed Savers relinquished development rights on the Twin Valleys property and created a long-term conservation plan that blends sensitive agricultural practices and protection of the land's natural features. Through FPP, Seed Savers received a payment that reimburses approximately half of the value of those surrendered rights.

Conservation easements are a useful tool for landowners who want to permanently protect their property but also want to retain ownership. "INHF has helped private landowners around the state to implement conservation easements. However, most of our easements have been donated; the FPP provides us with an alternative," notes Lisa Hein, INHF's Program and Planning Director. "The FPP offers some financial return to the landowner, which normally would not be available. However, INHF must apply for funding from NRCS, so we are selective about the project sites."

"Hopefully, we will gain enough experience with this program that public agencies could consider using the Farmland Protection Program to protect areas in the path of development," Hein added.

With the Twin Valleys addition and FPP payment, Seed Savers can broaden its preservation of endangered food crops by creating a network of isolation gardens, each one-quarter of a mile apart, to prevent cross-pollination and contamination. Already, Heritage Farm is home to vast collections of heirloom varieties of fruits, vegetables and grains. Since its founding in 1975, Seed Savers has collected more than 24,000 rare seed varieties and its members have distributed an estimated 1 million samples of rare seeds to gardeners elsewhere.

Seed Savers also protects rare livestock, such as their 80 breeding Ancient White Park cattle, of which only about 600 remain worldwide. The cattle are being managed in a low-impact rotational grazing program. Extensive fencing is currently keeping the cattle out of nearly 3.5 miles of cold-water streams and will also protect about 18 acres of new riparian plantings of trees from seed.

"The FPP program was designed to protect agriculture-so what better place to use it than Seed Savers' farm, which is dedicated to preserving agricultural diversity," says Hein.

The Twin Valleys easement also protects the site's outstanding natural features, which include two cold-water trout streams, habitat for the rare Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly (which coexists with Turtlehead plants), and three algific talus slopes. These "cold air" slopes are an extremely unusual ecosystem containing several rare species, including a federally endangered snail.

"Twin Valleys is a living jewel containing sheer limestone bluffs, massive sinkholes, algific talus slopes, bogs filled with skunk cabbage and marsh marigolds, coldwater trout streams and majestic woodlands," says Kent Whealy, Seed Savers' Executive Director. "Twin Valley's rich landscapes and Heritage Farm's vast seed collection will be permanently maintained and protected."

INHF and The Nature Conservancy, another nonprofit conservation group, helped introduce the FPP program to Iowa a couple years ago when they helped private farmers protect a handful of Loess Hills properties. This is the first time the program has been used in other parts of the state.

For more information, check our earlier magazine article, e-mail Cathy Engstrom (INHF director of communications) or call (515) 288-1846 or contact Seed Savers at 563-382-5990.