A number of farmers in Southern Illinois have expressed an interest in signing up for the voluntary Wetlands Reserve Program, which is yet to be funded for this year.

"There are two changes in this third wetlands reserve program," said Jim Wallace of the Natural Resources Conservation Services office at Benton, Ill. "The NRCS, under the United States Department of Agriculture and formerly the Soil Conservation Service, will administer the program, and this year it is being offered nationwide."

The first two signups were limited to fewer than half of the states.

Although some have signed up for the program, there is no assurance there will be a program this year because it has not been funded. "We hope to know by mid-August whether we'll have the program," Wallace said.

Wallace said the intent of the program remains the same: Landowners are offered the appraised, agriculture market value of their land in exchange for signing a permanent easement on the land to be restored to wetlands.

"We are not looking for good, productive farmland," Wallace said. "We're looking for marginal wetlands."

The landowner continues to maintain the land or have someone else manage the area. Regardless of who manages the area, it must be done in accordance with specifications outlined in the program, Wallace said.

Once the land is accepted into the program and an easement is filed, the landowner receives the easement payment based on the appraised agricultural value, up to a maximum of $950 an acre.

During the signup period, which was held May 30 through June 30, landowners could offer their easement areas for less than the $950 maximum payment.

One Southern Illinois realtor has been working with the American Land Conservancy in contacting farmers concerning wetlands purchases. The land conservancy group is a private, non-profit group headquartered in San Francisco that works closely with conservation programs, Wallace said.

NRCS designs the wetland restoration. As a wetland area, uses of the land is restricted. The NRCS works with U.S. Forest and the Fish and Wildlife Services in the program.

Hunting and fishing are allowed, Wallace said. Cutting and harvesting timber is permitted as long as it isn't detrimental to the wetland. No crops can be raised.

In flood plains, such as the Mississippi River corridor, restoration is often as simple as allowing an existing wet area of the field to grow into trees.

Once the soil is saturated or covered with water, wetland plants gradually reappear. In as little time as one growing season, cattails, bulrushes and other wetland vegetation starts appearing.

There are some concerns about the program, said Wallace. One concern of adjacent property owners is drainage, he said.

"There's no need for drainage concern," Wallace said. "We can't impede drainage systems; we have to maintain them."

Another concern is that farmland is taken out of production. "Our goal is not to enroll prime farmland," said Wallace. "Along the Mississippi River corridor, farmers have been hampered by flooding during the past three years. There is a lot of cropland that is not good cropland."

Some of the cropland consists of wetlands that have been converted to farmland.

Wallace said, "This is clearly a willing thing. Many farmers have signed up to participate in the program."

AT A GLANCE

Key elements of the voluntary Wetlands Reserve Program:

Landowners are offered the appraised, agriculture market value of their land in exchange for signing a permanent easement on land restored to wetlands.

Hunting and fishing are allowed and harvesting of timber is permitted as long as it isn't detrimental to the wetland.

In flood plains, restoration often means simply allowing an existing wet area to grow into trees.

No crops may be raised.