It seems like a bad time to be anti-tree.
We’re not quite four years removed from a derecho which, according to the Department of Natural Resources, destroyed 724,000 acres of the state’s forests. That’s out of 2.9 million forested acres total according to the USDA.
Clearly, the state’s woodlands took a beating at the hands of a fierce storm. Now, the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature is considering a bill that could do further damage.
Under current law, “forest reservations” and stands of fruit trees of at least two acres and 200 trees per-acre, are exempted from property taxes. It’s an incentive for landowners to preserve wooded areas along with their environmental benefits.
But House File 2672, a bill that has passed the Iowa House and is moving through to Iowa Senate, would allow counties to decide whether they provide the forest exemption. And the size of an eligible woodland would increase from two acres to five acres.
So, counties can drop the exemption. Some woodlands currently exempted would lose that status. Who would want to provide a disincentive for landowners to keep forests?
Round up the usual suspects. The Iowa Cattleman’s Association, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Iowa Soybean Association and, of course, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation are all registered in favor of the bill. Farm groups want more land for grazing and crop production. Lose the tax incentive and landowner could be persuaded to sell land for farming.
The Farm Bureau has pushed hard in recent year to make it tougher or even impossible for landowners to sell or donate their land for conservation. The Farm Bureau also opposes the expansion of parks and other public lands accessible to Iowans, arguing the state can’t afford to maintain its current parks.
Lowball parks budgets proposed by the governor and DNR are making sure the Farm Bureau is right. But when developers grab valuable farmland for suburban sprawl, we don’t hear a peep. We provide endless tax breaks for business developments.
By the way, 30.5 million acres of land in Iowa is used by farming operations. Apparently, it’s not enough.
Also, counties need more revenue. Then there’s the local animosity toward out-of-state owners who use forested land for hunting and get a tax break.
But we have a lot to lose. Trees anchor erodible land so it doesn’t wash into waterways, improving water quality and helping mitigate flooding. Woodlands provide wildlife habitat, and then there’s the whole absorption of carbon dioxide thing. And natural beauty. Don’t forget that. Think of those autumn leaves.
Growing up I was lucky to live in a forested rural area. There are woodlands along the nearby Iowa River and about 280 acres of forest bordered our property. The woods were our playground as kids. Hiking around, having adventures, and dragging our sleds through the woods to conquer “suicide hill.”
And I’ve seen the twisted, shattered remnants of trees destroyed in the derecho. We take forested areas for granted until their gone.
This a misguided, shortsighted bill that should be tossed into a chipper. It will do us more good as mulch.
www.thegazette.com
We’re not quite four years removed from a derecho which, according to the Department of Natural Resources, destroyed 724,000 acres of the state’s forests. That’s out of 2.9 million forested acres total according to the USDA.
Clearly, the state’s woodlands took a beating at the hands of a fierce storm. Now, the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature is considering a bill that could do further damage.
Under current law, “forest reservations” and stands of fruit trees of at least two acres and 200 trees per-acre, are exempted from property taxes. It’s an incentive for landowners to preserve wooded areas along with their environmental benefits.
But House File 2672, a bill that has passed the Iowa House and is moving through to Iowa Senate, would allow counties to decide whether they provide the forest exemption. And the size of an eligible woodland would increase from two acres to five acres.
So, counties can drop the exemption. Some woodlands currently exempted would lose that status. Who would want to provide a disincentive for landowners to keep forests?
Round up the usual suspects. The Iowa Cattleman’s Association, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Iowa Soybean Association and, of course, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation are all registered in favor of the bill. Farm groups want more land for grazing and crop production. Lose the tax incentive and landowner could be persuaded to sell land for farming.
The Farm Bureau has pushed hard in recent year to make it tougher or even impossible for landowners to sell or donate their land for conservation. The Farm Bureau also opposes the expansion of parks and other public lands accessible to Iowans, arguing the state can’t afford to maintain its current parks.
Lowball parks budgets proposed by the governor and DNR are making sure the Farm Bureau is right. But when developers grab valuable farmland for suburban sprawl, we don’t hear a peep. We provide endless tax breaks for business developments.
By the way, 30.5 million acres of land in Iowa is used by farming operations. Apparently, it’s not enough.
Also, counties need more revenue. Then there’s the local animosity toward out-of-state owners who use forested land for hunting and get a tax break.
But we have a lot to lose. Trees anchor erodible land so it doesn’t wash into waterways, improving water quality and helping mitigate flooding. Woodlands provide wildlife habitat, and then there’s the whole absorption of carbon dioxide thing. And natural beauty. Don’t forget that. Think of those autumn leaves.
Growing up I was lucky to live in a forested rural area. There are woodlands along the nearby Iowa River and about 280 acres of forest bordered our property. The woods were our playground as kids. Hiking around, having adventures, and dragging our sleds through the woods to conquer “suicide hill.”
And I’ve seen the twisted, shattered remnants of trees destroyed in the derecho. We take forested areas for granted until their gone.
This a misguided, shortsighted bill that should be tossed into a chipper. It will do us more good as mulch.
Opinion: Lawmakers take the ax to forest protection in Iowa
Leaves beginning to change color are seen in an aerial photo north of Postville, Iowa on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. …
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