By U.S. Department of the Interior
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued new internal guidance to provide better government services and alleviate conflict with landowners stemming from easement deeds that pre-date 1976.
The actions by the Service to improve its easement processes started in October 2019 when Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt and North Dakota Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven participated in a roundtable with rural landowners to discuss how outdated easement maps and a vague appeals process were cumbersome for affected residents.
Easement deeds pre-dating 1976 did not contain maps or sufficiently detailed descriptions to ensure the accurate demarcation of wetland easement boundaries. The lack of clarity led to confusion for landowners and hampered the Service’s ability to resolve easement boundary disputes in a commonsense way.
To clear up this confusion, the Service is modernizing the way it demarcates wetland easements that were established before 1976.
It has been contacting thousands of landowners who have pre-1976 wetland easement deeds to provide them with maps overlaid on aerial imagery detailing the boundaries and acreage of their easements.
Maps will also be available electronically, so landowners can insert data into their mapping systems and GIS-capable equipment.
Pre-1976 wetland easement landowners also are being informed of their right to appeal the mapping determinations to Service officials, if they choose. Letters will be sent detailing the updated appeals process and providing helpful information if landowners have additional inquiries.
“Our landowners, including farmers and ranchers, deserve due process without having to bear the burden of costly litigation. We look forward to continuing our work with the administration to ensure these reforms provide an adequate appeal process and much-needed regulatory relief,” Senator Hoeven said.
This is the first of several easement actions to be taken by the Service. In coming weeks, the Service is clarifying how drain tile setback recommendations are calculated, and how and when the Service pursues legal action in the case of setback violations.
The Service will also clarify how they will contact landowners when there is a suspected violation of a wetland easement, and how landowners can appeal the violation.