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H0261...............................................by AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS
SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS - Amends existing law to revise legislative
determinations and declaration of policy relating to the state soil
conservation commission and soil conservation districts.
02/15 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/16 Rpt prt - to Agric Aff
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 261
BY AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE SOIL CONSERVATION COMMISSION AND DISTRICTS; AMENDING SECTION
3 22-2716, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATIONS AND DECLARATION
4 OF POLICY AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 22-2716, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 22-2716. LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATIONS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is
9 hereby declared, as a matter of legislative determination:
10 A. The Condition. That the farm, ranch, range and forest lands of the
11 state of Idaho are among the basic assets of very important to the state of
12 Idaho and that the preservation of these lands it is necessary to protect and
13 promote the health, safety, and general welfare of its people; that we recog-
14 nize that natural factors and improper land-use practices have caused, and
15 have contributed to, and are now causing and contributing to, a progressively
16 more serious erosion of the farm, ranch, range and forest lands of the state
17 by wind and water; that the breaking of natural grass, plant, and forest cover
18 have interfered with the natural factors of soil stabilization, causing
19 loosening of soil and exhaustion of humus, and developing a soil condition
20 that favors erosion; that the topsoil is being blown and washed out of fields
21 and pastures; that there has been an accelerated washing of sloping fields;
22 that these processes of erosion by wind and water speed up with removal of
23 absorptive topsoil causing exposure of less absorptive and less protective but
24 more erosive subsoil; that failure by any land occupier to conserve the soil
25 and control erosion upon his lands causes a washing and blowing of soil and
26 water from his lands onto other lands and makes the conservation of soil and
27 control of erosion on such other public and private lands. difficult or impos-
28 sible.
29 B. The Consequences. That the consequences of such soil erosion in the
30 form of soil-blowing and soil-washing are the silting and sedimentation of
31 stream channels, reservoirs, dams and ditches; the loss of fertile soil mate-
32 rial in dust storms; the piling up of soil on lower slopes and its deposit
33 over alluvial plains; the reduction in productivity or outright ruin of rich
34 bottom lands by overwash of poor subsoil material, sand, and gravel swept out
35 of the hills; deterioration of soil and its fertility, deterioration of crops
36 grown thereon; loss of soil and water which causes destruction of food and
37 cover for wildlife; a blowing and washing of soil into streams which silts
38 over spawning beds, and destroys water plants, diminishing the food supply of
39 fish; a diminishing of the underground water reserve which causes water short-
40 ages, intensifies periods of drought, and causes crop failures; and increase
41 in the speed and volume of rainfall runoff, causing severe and increasing
42 floods, which bring suffering, disease, and death; impoverishment of families
43 attempting to farm eroding and eroded lands; damage to roads;, highways, rail-
2
1 ways, farm buildings, and other property from floods and from dust storms; and
2 losses in hydroelectric power, municipal water supply, irrigation develop-
3 ments, farming and grazing.
4 C. The Appropriate Corrective Methods. That to conserve soil resources
5 and control and prevent soil erosion, and prevent floodwater and sediment dam-
6 ages, and further the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of
7 water it is necessary that land-use practices contributing to soil wastage and
8 soil erosion be discouraged and appropriate soil-conserving land-use prac-
9 tices including works of improvement for flood prevention and furthering the
10 conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water be adopted and
11 carried out; that among the procedures necessary for widespread adoption, are
12 the carrying on of engineering operations such as the construction of ter-
13 races, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, floodwater retarding
14 structures, channel improvements, floodwaters, dikes, ponds, ditches and the
15 like; the utilization of strip croppings, lister furrowing, contour cultivat-
16 ing, and contour furrowing; land drainage; land irrigation; seeding and plant-
17 ing of waste, sloping, abandoned, or eroded lands to water-conserving and
18 erosion-preventing plants, trees, and grasses; forestation and reforestation;
19 rotation of crops; soil stabilization with trees, grasses, legumes, and other
20 thick-growing, soil holding crops; retardation of runoff by increasing absorp-
21 tion of rainfall; and retirement from cultivation of steep, highly erosive
22 areas and areas now badly gullied or otherwise eroded.
23 D. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
24 legislature to provide for the conservation of the soil and soil resources of
25 this state, and for the control and prevention of soil erosion, and for the
26 prevention of floodwater and sediment damages, and for furthering the conser-
27 vation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and thereby to pre-
28 serve natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of dams and reser-
29 voirs, assist in maintaining the navigability of rivers and harbors, preserve
30 wildlife, protect the tax base, protect public lands, and promote the health,
31 safety, and general welfare of the people of this state.
32 It is hereby further declared to be the policy of the legislature that the
33 soil conservation commission provide support and service to soil conservation
34 districts in the wise use and enhancement of soil, water and related
35 resources.
36 E. Planning. The state also declares that the health, safety and general
37 welfare of the people of this state can be greatly enhanced by providing
38 opportunities to landowners and land users enabled to readily understand and
39 plan for local, state and federal natural resource requirements and opportuni-
40 ties through technological innovation and processes.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 11103
The purpose of this legislation is to clarify the duties relating to
the Soil Conservation Commission and Districts and best
describes the role and responsibilities.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact on the General Fund or on the Soil Conservation
Commission and Districts.
Contact
Name: Lynn Tominaga, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
Phone: 381 0294
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 26