Carl N. von Ende and Sarah L. Nelson Department of Biological Sciences

Institute for the Environment, Energy and Sustainability Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115

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DeKalb County, Illinois

Chicago metropolitan county

97.1 % prime agricultural land Rich, fine, loess soils

Corn, soybeans

Tiled: originally wet prairie

BMP dominant; little CRP

Illinois #1 contributor nutrient flux in MARB

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Global Hypoxia – Gulf of Mexico

Coastal hypoxia from nutrient runoff

> 400 globally (Diaz & Rosenberg 2008)

Destruction of habitat vital for marine production

Nutrients from Midwestern Corn Belt to Gulf of Mexico via Mississippi River

EPA initiative: nutrients to Gulf

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Northern DeKalb Co. Watershed EPA Watershed Planning Grant (local)

Purpose: water quality improvement

DeKalb Co. Storm water Management Committee Goal: storm water management

Potential stakeholders Municipalities, producers, absentee

landowners

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DeKalb Co. Watershed Planning

Major challenges

Engage stakeholders,

Develop financing

Land rents ~ $300/acre/yr

Overcome dominant local “obsession” of agricultural producers with removing water from farmland ASAP

Extensive “tiling” & stream channelization

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Agricultural ESS Models

Nitrogen Markets

Currently not exist in Illinois

CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program)

Iowa, Illinois

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)

Florida northern Everglades Model

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Iowa CREP Wetlands filter tile drainage water

nitrates 40-90 %; herbicides > 90%

Annual pay max. 150% average land rent

40% Payment Incentive Payment (PIP)

State & federally funded

Habitat & recreational benefits

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Illinois CREP 2010: $45 million

Illinois & Kaskaskia river (→ Mississippi River )

10% ↓ N, P (→ Gulf of Mexico)

15 % ↑ associated bird populations

10% ↑ mussels, fish

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DeKalb Co. – PES ?

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Paying for environmental services from agricultural lands: an example from the northern Everglades Patrick J Bohlen1*, Sarah Lynch2, Leonard Shabman3, Mark Clark4, Sanjay Shukla5, and Hilary Swain Front Ecol Environ 2009; 7(1): 46–55

DeKalb Co. Project – PES?

How best approach in ESS framework?

CREP not option for N. DeKalb Co.

PES Model – Florida

Critical mass of stakeholders

State & regional regulators, ranchers

Ranches/grasslands not row crops

Closer to coastal areas, so appreciates impacts of storm water & nutrient run-off?

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DeKalb Co. Project – PES?

Northern Illinois – challenges for PES

Critical mass of stakeholders??

Row crops not grasslands

Far removed from coastal areas of Gulf of Mexico

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DeKalb Co. Project - Strategies Identify “local heroes”

American Farmland Trust?

Build relationships Discuss success stories with “local

heroes” Enlist their help to relay information &

potential benefits to stakeholders Avoid impression that stakeholders are

doing things wrong & need to change Focus on benefits of PES

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