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LenNH 11-02-2009 11:03:51 71.192.137.159 736101 Report to Moderator

Watch out for the feds if you"re doing anything with what they call "wetlands." I know a farmer who dammed up a little stream to make a pond near his house. Spotted from a satellite, and the feds were on his case in no time. Then he bought a neighboring farm. Without checking with whatever authority now governs what can be done with wetlands, he drained a marshy area near a tiny stream. This land had been "underdrained" years ago with tiles and boards, which had eventually all collapsed and led the area next to the stream to become the bog that it probably had been a hundred years ago. Well, this got spotted, too---from the air, again--and it turned out that there were endangered bog turtles living in the marsh. The fine was going to be $850,000 for endangering 17 turtles. This being a second offense didn't help the guy much, either. There were federal prosecutors involved, threatening to put this guy out of business. They have all kinds of money at their disposal, at least compared to most farmers these days. There"s nothing like having a little power, is there, especially over people who don"t have much of it? Last I heard, this fellow was still paying lawyers to help him negotiate something with the feds. Anyway, this may have nothing to do with your situation, but if it looks the least bit iffy, you can find out what the regs might be. I don"t know where to start--county agent, maybe. [Reply]   [No Email]