A panel that regulates the purchase of land by nonprofit groups in North Dakota has rejected a Ducks Unlimited proposal to buy 160 acres of land in Grand Forks County.
According to Terry Steinwand, director of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the North Dakota Natural Areas Acquisition Advisory Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to reject DU's request to buy the land, known as the "Reed property," located four miles north and two miles west of Thompson, N.D.
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring chairs the committee, and members besides Steinwand are Mark Zimmerman, director of the state Parks and Recreation Department; Mark Watne, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union; Doyle Johannes, president of the North Dakota Farm Bureau; Jason Zahn, president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, and Larry Kotchman, state forester.
William Murphy, chairman of the Grand Forks County Commission, represented the commission on the advisory committee.
DU had proposed to restore the property for wetland mitigation after accepting mitigation responsibility for 17.27 acres of impact associated with the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Project.
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Steinwand said he voted against the proposal because DU staff couldn't provide a solid answer on how many acres of wetlands would be restored. The land in the proposal wouldn't have provided great wildlife habitat, either, Steinwand said, adding the closest habitat is at least five miles away from the site.
"This was going to be a postage stamp in the middle of nowhere," he said of the land's habitat potential.
Neighboring landowners also had expressed concern about the potential impact restored wetlands would have had on surrounding farmland, Steinwand said.
The Game and Fish director said voting against the proposal was a difficult decision, but he wasn't surprised by the outcome.
