Walking
wetlands - More
acreage added to land rotation program
By
TY BEAVER
H&N
Staff Writer
September
14, 2006
H&N
photos by Ty Beaver Sid
Staunton of Staunton Farms discusses the benefits of the “walking
wetlands” program to land he and his brothers are farming this season.
TULELAKE — For Klamath Basin farmers and agencies that maintain the
area’s wetlands, there is no downside.
After nearly a decade of success on wildlife refuges at Tulelake and Lower
Klamath Lake, government officials and Klamath Basin farmers hope a program
to rotate wetlands and farmland will gain acceptance for use on private
lands for its ability to aid agriculture as well as the environment.
“What we’re doing is holistic resource management,” said Mike Green of
the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Falls office.
Officials with the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the Bureau began instituting the flood fallow or “walking
wetlands” program in the late 1990s, rotating 500 to 700 acres of the
refuge’s lease lands between agricultural use to wetland use for periods
of two to four years. Currently, more than 1,500 acres are now in rotation
for a four-year period, and the refuge plans to have 2,100 acres or 10
percent of the lease lands in rotation by 2008.
The increase in lands in rotation is because of interest in the program,
said Dave Mauser, wildlife biologist with the Klamath Basin National
Wildlife Refuge. When the program first started, one farmer would bid to
lease previously flooded lands. The most recent land had 10 bidders, and
went for nearly $200 per acre, when, before flooding, the lands would go for
around $70 an acre.
For farmers, the high price is worth the benefit. Because of the duration of
flooding, the land can be used for either conventional or organic farming,
since no pesticides were applied during the wetland years.
Higher yields
Flooding the land also appears to suppress pests and diseases, such as white
rot, nematodes and rhizock. Most importantly, yields and quality are higher,
with or without fertilizer.
Sid Staunton and his brothers of Staunton Farms have been using lease lands
in the program since the program began at Tulelake. The earliest fields they
use were converted back from wetlands six years
ago and today they still see yields above their averages.
“It just freshens the ground,” he said.
The refuges have also benefited from the program. Bird populations have
increased dramatically, both in already established species and new ones,
such as shore birds. More wetlands have become available, thus increasing
the viable habitat and water quality. The potential for increased water
storage during winter months is another possible benefit.
With so many advantages to both farmers and the environment, there is a push
for private lands to begin a similar pilot program. Staunton and his
brothers are using
one of the fields they farm as a demonstration. At the refuge on Lower
Klamath Lake, farmer Mike Noonan will flood his fields for a period in
exchange for the ability to farm an equal amount of acres on the refuge.
Challenges
Hurdles do exist for a private lands program, though.
The biggest obstacle is solving the problem of third party impact. Dikes
between flooded and unflooded private lands could break and the issue of
liability needs to be answered. The dike for Staunton’s demonstration
field broke when it first flooded, and while little damage was done, it did
make Staunton and the agencies working with him face the problem.
The need for water to flood lands also is an issue. On the lease lands and
refuges, the BOR provides the needed water, often a little more than three
acre-feet per acre. On private lands, the allocation of irrigation water for
a farmer’s land could be used for flooding, but that does not include the
winter months when irrigation districts shut water supplies off or during a
dry year when water use is rationed and restricted.
Despite challenges, both farmers and government agencies see the use of
“walking wetlands” as a beneficial way to continue agriculture while
protecting the environment. The fact that people from both sides of the
issue are actively talking about and endorsing such a project is a sign of
its potential success, said Ron Cole with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
“We are here right now because it works,” he said.
Klamath
Pearl potatoes grown by Staunton Farms on previously flooded farmland in the
“walking wetlands” program at the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge.
