DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today sent the following letter to President-elect Obama’s Presidential Transition team highlighting Iowa’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and its ability to improve water quality and address the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. “The targeted wetlands this program has created is an effective tool in our efforts to address nitrate loading and we want to work with USDA install these practices across the upper Midwest,” Northey said.  “The Gulf of Mexico Program has recognized the potential of this program and we want to build on the past successes by expanding it with a new innovative initiative that provides broader environmental as well as food production benefits.” A copy of the letter to the Obama Presidential Transition follows here: December 31, 2008 Mr. Greg Nelson Mr. Lucas Knowles Obama Presidential Transition Washington, D.C. 20720 Dear Mr. Nelson and Mr. Knowles: Thank you for this opportunity to share with you issues important to agriculture as you prepare for the transition and new leadership at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  I commend you for the leadership team you have selected for USDA and look forward to working with the new Administration. Clearly, Iowa agriculture is vast and very diverse and there is no way to discuss all issues important to our state’s farmers in one letter.  Rebuilding of conservation practices following the flooding this year, continued work in the states many watersheds to promote flood and erosion control, expanded trade, continued growth in renewable fuels, farm bill implementation all are vitally important issues to agriculture and topics the new administration will have to address. However, I did want to take this opportunity to highlight our Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program that has been very successful here in Iowa and I believe can be replicated in other states as a means to improve water quality and address the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. This program is a state/federal initiative in Iowa to develop wetlands that are strategically located and designed to remove nitrate from tile-drainage water serving cropland areas.  Removal of nitrate from these waters helps protect drinking water supplies and reduce hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Water quality monitoring completed by researchers at Iowa State University has confirmed that these wetlands remove 40-90% of the nitrate and 90+% of the herbicide in tile drainage water from upper-lying croplands.  In addition to reducing nitrate loads to surface waters, the wetlands provide wildlife habitat and increased recreational opportunities. Earlier this year the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, USDA Farm Service Agency in Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau were recognized by the Gulf of Mexico Program for this program and its effectiveness in reducing nutrients traveling to Gulf. A pilot program has been proposed for a new Iowa initiative to build on these successes by integrating wetlands into drainage systems to achieve expanded environmental and food production benefits. An investment of $31 million could result in a combined public/private investment of more than $60 million to treat up to 100,000 acres and improve water quality in the Midwest and in the Gulf of Mexico.  Phosphorus and nitrogen entering waters, surface runoff, downstream flooding and greenhouse gases would be reduced, and added landscape diversity and recreation opportunities would also be created through this initiative. The success of these initial pilot programs have the potential to pave the way for these wetlands being uses to impact 6 million acres of Iowa croplands as the drainage systems of Iowa are re-built in the next decades. We believe that this initiative can serve as a national model and look forward to working with USDA officials in the new administration to share the lessons we have learned and continue the partnership we have in protecting our nation’s precious natural resources. Sincerely, Bill Northey Iowa Secretary of Agriculture   Cc:       Gov. Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture Designee             Sen. Chuck Grassley             Sen. Tom Harkin             Cong. Lenard Boswell             Cong. Tom Latham             Cong. Steve King             Cong. Bruce Braley             Cong. David Loebsack             Charlie Ingram, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture