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r <br />The Minnesota River Conservation <br />Reserve Enhancement Program <br />(CREP) took center stage in early <br />September when Minnesota Gov. Jesse <br />Ventura initiated a series of statewide <br />tours and visited CREP land in south- <br />western Minnesota. <br />More than 150 people attended the <br />CREP portion of the Governor's tour, <br />which had three buses and many other <br />vehicles that followed his bus from <br />Granite Falls through Redwood Falls. <br />The CREP portion of the tour began <br />around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6, <br />and ended around 5 p.m. that day. <br />Earlier, Gov.. Ventura visited Appleton <br />and Montevideo. <br />Four CREP sites where chosen to <br />show the Governor. They included the <br />Donald and Lola Dambroten family <br />farm near Granite Falls; Joel Romo <br />and family land, also near Granite <br />Falls; land owned by Janet Pedersen, <br />Crystal Rosso, and Tina Harried, south <br />of Sacred Heart; and land, which is <br />near Redwood Falls, owned by the <br />family of the late Jerome Stancer. <br />Families on the tour had a chance to <br />meet with the Governor, take pictures, <br />and discuss why they decided to enroll <br />in CREP. <br />Tabor Hoek, a board conservationist <br />with the Minnesota Board of Water <br />and Soil Resources, served as the sole <br />CREP guide on the Governor's bus. <br />Says Hoek: "I was awestruck at the <br />once-in-a-career chance to spend that <br />much time with the Governor. I found <br />him attentive and interested. in what's <br />going on in the farm country of Minne- <br />sota." <br />The event brought significant attention <br />to the success of Minnesota's CREP <br /><ro= <br />x ~ 1 ' ~ Sr <br />~~~~~~ n ~ <br />~~ l ~~c ~~~ ~ .~~ <br />~ ~ " u ~~ ~ i <br />C~ <br />_~ "est. 3~ ~jY ~,~ <br />... ~ ~~~ - <br />~, ~ f;~ <br />' `~~~ <br />~ ~.~ <br />z ~~ <br />r j ~,,, <br />°= <br />Governor Ventura chatting with folks on the CREP Tour <br />including BWSR's Tabor Hoek (second from right) and Janet <br />Pedersen, (first on right) a landowner who has land enrolled in <br />CREP. <br />and the efforts of everyone involved in <br />the program. "The Governor obviously <br />drew much attention to a program that <br />is hitting its peak, and this should help <br />push us over the edge to completion of <br />the 100,000 acres," says Hoek. <br />During the state's 2001 legislative <br />session, $51.4 million was appropri- <br />aed for the Minnesota River CREP in <br />a bonding bill. Gov. Ventura had <br />supported full funding of the program. <br />In previous years' sessions, the state <br />appropriated $30 million for the <br />program. With the full funding in <br />place, the state can fully match the <br />$163 million in federal money avail- <br />able for the program. <br />As of Sept. 26, a total of 58,269 acres <br />have been enrolled in the program. An <br />additiona122,129 acres are in process <br />or pending approval at soil and water <br />conservation districts offices in the <br />Minnesota River basin. <br />CREP is administered at the state level <br />by the Minnesota Board of Water and <br />Soil Resources. Soil and water conser- <br />vation districts in the Minnesota River <br />basin administer the program locally. <br />Federal partners are the USDA Farm <br />Service Agency and the Natural <br />Resources Conservation Service. <br />Landowners interested in applying are <br />encouraged to contact their local <br />SWCD office soon. It is expected that <br />the goal of 100,000 acres will be <br />reached much earlier than the pro- <br />gram's September 2002 deadline. <br />10 <br />