Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has proposed mandated buffer areas around water bodies in the state to enhance the wildlife habitat. Warren Formo with the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resources Center says the current buffer rules require counties through their zoning authority to set a shore land requirement, but doesn’t mandate a distance. The Governor’s proposal would change that.
He says farmers are already voluntarily establishing buffers and doing other conservation practices that protect wildlife habitat.

However, he says the lost CRP acres have been replaced through other state and federal conservation programs.

Minnesota Soybean Executive Director Tom Sulenka says farm groups are skeptical about the Governor’s idea.

He says an informal survey at the Minnesota Ag Expo indicated farmers are voluntarily putting more than 400,000 acres of land in wildlife habitat.