Today the farm produces a bounty of wildlife including: whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, pheasant, bobwhite quail, lesser prairie chicken and wild turkey. I am most excited about what continues to be a bright future for the lesser prairie chicken at the farm. This year, for the first time in my lifetime, the lesser prairie chicken returned to a historic lek that ironically is along a ridge in the irrigated circle that I tried to enroll in the CREP For The Upper Arkansas River, but was denied even a chance to apply. That program is designed to retire water rights in the rapidly depleting Ogallala aquifer. When I received information on the program I was excited as it is in the spirit of my water conservation efforts, but when I inquired about enrollment was told that I did not qualify because of my water conservation efforts I did not use enough water. I appealed to those in Washington and Topeka, but have found that certain unnamed legislators in both the capitol and the statehouse are not in favor of the program, so my plea was in vain. I was also told at a farm information meeting by a federal employee, “We are not interested in you, we want the big boys.” This was at a time when corn prices were at their highs and for some reason it was thought that the large irrigation farmers would be willing to forever surrender their water rights.
See link for a good summary of the program:
http://scc.ks.gov/images/stories/pdf/crep_ fy08_ 09_leg_report.pdf
This program relied on historic pumping data as a barometer of future potential water use, which in my opinion is flawed. You will notice from the report that there was a huge interest in Kearny County, but this is because those wells were playing out and the farmers were afraid of the well’s useful lifetime, even though the past historic water use qualified the lands. I have plenty of water in my well, but because I have conserved for various reasons I cannot even apply. Every year I have young aggressive farmers wanting to lease my irrigation and believe me, if I lease it to one of them, the water use will approach maximum allowed under my water permit. Susan Stover, at the Kansas Water Office, wanted to require a pump test to determine water potential, but that was denied by the Kansas legislature. I offered to do a pump test on my well for the center pivots to prove I have water to “sell” to the CREP program, but that was not allowed. My 1947 would not qualify under a pump test, but not because of a limited water supply, but the limitation of the original casing and pump works.
My conclusion is that few care about the aquifer, even though people are intelligent to know that the Ogallala is being depleted at an alarming rate. It is a shame that some in their lifetime will see their only source of water, the ground water, go dry. As was said a few years back, “It’s the economy stupid.” Too many are worried about the economy of today that they will rob our children and grandchildren of suitable ground water to maintain life on the prairies over the Ogallala. I told my sons, “You have the benefit of more wildlife in all forms than I had as a child, except waterfowl and fishing since the Arkansas River and Mulberry Creek have been drained by water overuse.” My sons did see a few years of water in the river and saw how the prairies blossomed with stream flow, only to see it go dry again.
Unfortunately, I too have to make economic decisions about my farm operation. I too, have debt service. If my ground water conservation efforts would assure that my children and grandchildren would have water for their domestic use along with windmills for livestock use, I would continue to conserve ground water. I have concluded that the aquifer will go dry with or without my conservation, therefore, I will this winter discuss with potential land tenants improvements to my center pivot systems and moving over and drilling a new well, as permitted, to replace the 1947 well and pump works, which will provide more income to retire debt on the property. That is not my desire, but after beating my head against a brick wall, it appears to be the reasonable decision. I really don’t have the heart to pump to the maximum, so will likely lease to a tenant so the “blood will be on his hands.” Sorry so cynical, but when I try to do the best for the land and our resources only to get kicked in the teeth, I become embittered.
In conclusion:
The prairies in my area and over most of the Ogallala aquifer are best served by grass. The grass reduces water and wind erosion providing cleaner water, less silt flowing down stream and improved air quality. It would be a shame to reduce the number of grass acres and it would be beneficial to maintain or increase the acres in grass through the CRP program. The grass and an intermix of forbs and legumes provide good habitat for wildlife, including the lesser prairie chicken which is a candidate for the endangered species list. Provide some flexibility on qualification of lands, so that land like mine that was originally declined could be reviewed with a common sense approach as to what is best for the land, the environment and the wildlife. I see the lesser prairie chicken as a good barometer of the health of the prairie. Increase the maximum permitted acres in the General Signup to 40 million acres.
Water conservation of ground water in the Ogallala aquifer through programs such as the CREP For The Upper Arkansas River, should be expanded rapidly. A common sense approach to qualification of a water right for inclusion in the program should be used so that farm operators like myself that have valuable water for the program and are in the spirit of bettering the overall environment would be able to be included rather than excluded due to rules that do not necessarily reflect that which is true. Increase the acres in the CREP programs above the 2.0 million acres. Provide cost share to control invasive plants like the salt cedar in the stream beds to start or increase stream flow.
