Cook County has a lot of wetland. Various estimations have been made regarding what percentage of pre-settlement wetlands are still intact, but according to Cook County Planning & Zoning Assistant Administrator David Demmer, “it is fairly safe to say that approximately 99 percent of Cook County’s pre-settlement wetlands are intact.”
Some areas of the state, such as the farmlands in the south, have been trying to re-establish wetlands that were filled in many years ago. In Cook County, finding suitable building sites can be difficult because of all the wetland that still exists.
The Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (MN Rule 8420) allows a local government unit to adopt a local wetland management plan that specifically addresses the needs of that particular area. To assist the county in developing such a plan, the Office of Planning & Zoning has procured a grant through the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR).
In January, a Cook County Wetland Management Plan Committee will begin establishing priorities and outlining a plan. The work is funded through 2013, and if more funding is awarded, an inventory will be conducted to determine exactly how many acres of wetland Cook County has and the plan will be finalized. Demmer expects the entire project to be completed in 2015.
“In my opinion,” Demmer wrote in an email to the Cook County News-Herald, “the fact that we have such a large percentage of pre-settlement wetlands intact (the highest percentage in the state according to [a] 1997 report) is the most convincing reason why we could benefit from a local wetland management plan.
“Currently we operate under a ‘three sizes fit all’ policy, meaning that Cook County is managed just like every county in the northern third of the state despite the fact that we clearly have a unique setting. With a local plan we would have the ability to manage our wetland resources at the local level in a manner that makes sense for the unique circumstances that we have here.”
Demmer told the county board on November 27 that he anticipates the plan will result in local replacement of wetlands disturbed by development projects. “Preservation bank sites” could be created, or the county could use money collected in fees to implement wetland projects.
The Wetland Conservation Act requires that wetland disturbance be avoided when possible, but if not, it must be minimized, rectified, or replaced.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson said he believed mitigating within the county could be more expensive because of the lack of high ground and the amount of bedrock. Demmer estimated that mitigating within the county would cost about $26,0000-27,000 an acre.
Demmer is currently working on permitting a purchase of wetland credits from Beltrami County at a cost of $13,000 an acre. “The goal is to not make replacement more expensive,” Demmer said of the potential cost of credits within Cook County. “A major goal would be to provide landowners an additional level of flexibility in replacement standards that make sense for the type of impacts that occur. There are many routes that we can entertain to achieve this while keeping the money in the local economy.”
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja wondered if mitigating in flood-prone areas like the Red River Valley would be more cost-effective. Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson agreed that mitigation in southern Minnesota or the Red River Valley would be more useful. Cook County is paying for the “sins” of others, he said. “We’re bursting at the seams with wetlands.”
Nelson will go back to the board with suggestions on the makeup of the committee and requested that one commissioner be on it.
In other county news:
. Public Health & Human Services will be gaining a new position in 2013. Anna Sandstrom, who has been working as the department’s office support specialist/case aide, will enter a new position as a 30-hour-aweek case aide to assist the social workers. The office support/case aide position was reduced from 40 to 30 hours and will be filled by Allison McIntyre. The new position was already approved in the 2013 budget.
Sheila Wieben will be filling the open financial worker position.
. The board approved reimbursement of $133.10 to Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken for the suit and shoes she was wearing during the shooting in the County Attorney’s Office last December. They were destroyed in the process and subsequently taken into evidence by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and have not been returned despite the fact that no trial will take place because the shooter is no longer living.
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