Kevin Cramer was drawn into a wetlands policy fight that reached the US Fish & Wildlife Service after more than 200,000 people commented on a proposed drain-tile setback review. On August 14, the Service said no further action is planned while it reviews the information received.
The agency said the request for information focused on how setbacks are calculated for drain tiles around wetland easements. Those easements are tied to landowners who sell them to the Service and agree to keep key wetlands in their natural state, even after ownership changes hands.
US Fish & Wildlife Service review
In late July, the Service announced plans for a potential rule change that would have allowed drain tiles near protected wetlands in the Prairie Potholes Region of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa. The proposed change also would have touched easements purchased with money generated by the Duck Stamp program.
On August 14, the Service thanked “the more than 200,000 commenters who responded to the request for information on the process for calculating setbacks for the drain tiles around the wetland easements,” and said, “At this time, no further action is planned as we review the information received.” The agency also said it is dedicated to protecting both the wetland easements and private landowners’ use of lands outside the easement boundaries.
Brad Bortner on backlash
Brad Bortner, former chief of the USFWS’s Migratory Bird Division, said the response was unlike anything he had seen in five decades of hunting and four decades as a biologist. “The 219,000 comments from hunters and the joint letter from the major waterfowl organizations were unprecedented,” he said. “During my 50 years as a waterfowl hunter and 40 years as a biologist, I’ve never seen such a unified movement.”
Ducks Unlimited launched its Don’t Drain the Duck Factory campaign after the 14-day comment window was announced, and it said removing drain-tile setback rules would lead to widespread drainage and loss of protected duck habitat. Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, California Waterfowl, and South Carolina Waterfowl also sent a joint letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, urging him to keep the current rules in place.
Doug Burgum and the rules
Separate letters from bipartisan groups of elected officials in the House and Senate also urged Doug Burgum to maintain the current drain-tile setback rules. The fight centers on whether the Service keeps the existing limits that protect perpetual conservation easements or returns to the proposal after reviewing the comments.
For landowners, the immediate result is a pause, not a finished rule. For hunters and conservation groups, the Service’s August 14 statement leaves the current setback rules in place while it reviews the record that drew the unusual volume of public response.
