By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The USDA announced plans last week to spend more than $136 million of federal economic stimulus money on 289 floodplain easement projects across the United States.
An estimated 3,016 acres of Indiana farmland will be taken out of production through this floodplain easement project. A total of 13 easement applications worth more than $8 million were accepted by the USDA. The easements are in Daviess, Gibson, Knox, Posey, Sullivan, Tippecanoe and Warren counties.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement along the Honey Creek Watershed in Terre Haute, which received $3.3 million in stimulus funds from the USDA through an additional program. USDA will spend $42.3 million in 14 states on project that are intended to improve water quality, increase water supply, decrease soil erosion and improve fish and wildlife habitat.

These projects are also intended to create jobs in rural communities, Vilsack said.

He added that these two funding opportunities – created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also referred to as federal stimulus funding - should work hand-in-hand.

“The floodplain easements made possible through the Recovery Act generated tremendous interest and response from across the country, which underscores the need to restore flood-prone areas to their natural state,” Vilsack reported. “We are working to create jobs and ensure the most effective use of the funds by enrolling land with the greatest benefit to protect against future floods, improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat and reduce the need for future disaster assistance.

“A 490-acre project involving three easements along the Wabash River in Indiana will convert cropland damaged by flooding and erosion to permanent native vegetation. In addition to reducing flood damage to the floodplain, these restoration activities will protect the habitats of two state-listed threatened and endangered species, increase available carbon sequestration, restore riparian habitats and reduce commodity payments on 260 acres of cropland.”

This area of Terre Haute suffered from serious flooding in June 2008. Indiana State Conservationist Jane Hardisty, who is with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) said the $3.3 million Honey Creek Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Project will protect 390 homes, 190 businesses and 1,300 acres of farmland and pasture from flood damage. The project is expected to contribute $1.97 million of annual benefits to the economic growth of the area.

“The area has experienced recurring, disastrous flooding in the past, particularly during the June 2008 flood,” Hardisty said. “We believe completion of this watershed project will provide the needed flood protection from 100-year, 24-hour storm events. It will also impact thousands of citizens who live or transact business in the long-existing floodplain in the southern part of Vigo County.

“We were honored to have Secretary Vilsack make his announcements in Indiana, and are very pleased about the floodplain easements selected in Indiana, which will restore flood-prone areas to their natural state.”

The farmland in the floodplain easement project along the White River belongs to Don Osborne of rural Knox County, Ind.

“It was a very hard decision to make because it’s going to take acres out of our production. You don’t do that very easily,” Osborne explained. “We hope its going to make some of the other land easier to farm. It should help us keep more of the topsoil; it won’t wash away from the areas where we still farm.”

He said thousands of trees would be planted in the floodplain acreage, which should help prevent topsoil erosion.

“After last year’s big flood, we knew we had to do something,” Osborne stated.

Other states receiving floodplain easement funds through the ARRA include:

•Illinois – 10 projects covering 1,403 acres and costing $5.9 million
•Kentucky – six projects covering 810 acres and costing $3.5 million
•Michigan – one project covering 108 acres and costing $515,574
•Ohio – 23 projects covering 1,074 acres and costing $4.5 million
•Tennessee – three projects covering 498 acres and costing $1.7 million

For more information about eligibility for USDA projects through the Recovery Act, go online to www.usda.gov