Partnership yields public land

[h2ofwlr]

By Robin Baumgarn, Worthington Daily Globe Reporter
on Oct 10, 2014 at 11:23 p.m.

WORTHINGTON — Through the cooperation of the local Pheasants Forever chapter, Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District, Worthington Public Utilities, Nobles County and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a number of land acquisitions have created beautiful public spaces for wildlife management areas.

Nobles County Pheasants Forever president Scott Rall and Worthington Public Utilities General Manager Scott Hain led two buses of participants Friday on a tour of a few of the acquired parcels. The partnership has yielded positive results for all agencies involved.

For Pheasants Forever, the acquisitions provide habitat spaces for a number of wildlife species in the area. For both OOWD and WPU, the location of the wildlife management areas can ensure clean and protected water sources that will remain undisturbed.

In the case of Pheasant Run 21, Pheasants Forever was able to purchase the ground that had traditionally been terrible for farming due to being in a low-lying area. The previous owner had installed tiling and a pump to help with the inevitable flooding, and could produce a decent crop only three out of five years.

When Pheasants Forever approached the previous owner, the two parties made a trade of properties. For the low-lying area, the farmer received a better-suited area for farming, and Pheasants Forever received a wetland for preservation. Rall said the outcome was great for all involved.

“Everybody gets what they want,” he explained. “Watershed gets watershed protection. We get aquifer recharge. The farmer got himself two great pieces of property, well-drained, well-tiled. The yield is twice of what he was getting here. We get the habitat access of that and Minnesota gets the public recreation.”

One testament to the power of partnership between these entities is Lake Bella. The lake, formerly part of the Ocheyedan River, has provided the majority of water for Worthington since 1963. Hain commented on how the partnership has been able to help his agency.

“I think it’s helped tremendously,” Hain said. “This partnership we’ve been able to develop, and Scott (Rall) hit the nail on the head, none of us can do this alone.”

The land being sought by the groups is part of a designated area of the wellhead protection area considered vulnerable for high levels of pollution. By acquiring parcels in these areas, it lowers the chances for pollution of drinking water supplies in Lake Bella.

“With this last acquisition, over 95-percent of that (highly vulnerable area) now is in public ownership and has been taken out of production forever, and that is huge,” Hain explained. “With the scarcity of water resources down here, we obviously know we have to do everything we can to protect it.

“This has been just a remarkable partnership. Obviously, we couldn’t do it alone. Like Scott said at one of our previous stops, their goal is habitat. Our goal is protecting the quality of our groundwater; protecting the resource for the citizens of Worthington. Although the goals are a bit different, it’s the same common solution.”