Aerial photo looking south over farm yard at the project under construction.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Project is 95% Complete.
Once the wetlands were built and verified, the wetlands were seeded, hooked up, and mulched.
In the spring, the contractor will finish the grading.
The uplands will then be tilled, packed and seeded.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
History of Ruby's Farm
March 3, 1854 - The property was transferred by an Act of the U.S. Congress to the State of Minnesota.
January 26, 1869 - The property was granted from the state of Minnesota to the Southern Minnesota Rail Road. Granted ($00.00) so that they could build the railroad system.
The property was described as a farm containing 240 acres, more or less, according to Government survey thereof.
The abstract has been recorded on in excess of 100 times. Through various property exchanges, life, death, divorce, etc. It has been held together.
In 1909, a Ditch Lien was placed in the abstract to fund the properties share of Judicial Ditch No. 6. The ditch lien was for $1249.74 payable in 15 annual installments with general taxes, first principal payable with taxes payable in 1914. E.W. Allen was the owner then and for the cost of $83.32 per year or $0.35 per acre per year. This system was installed on his farm and began draining the wetlands.
The drainage system was funded in 1909 and installed soon there after.
In 1956, Lawrence and Shirley Ruby purchased the farm. Lawrence farmed corn and soybeans around the wetlands until in the early 1970's when he added tile to the system to finally dry them out.
Crop was lost every year due to flooding. He contoured the waterways and made the water flow and run off as much as possible.
In 1986 Dan Ruby joined Lawrence and farmed full time with him until his death in 2004.
In 2006, the farm was rented out after Dan Ruby had farmed 20 years.
Farming alone was no where near as pleasurable as farming with my parents. Farming with an aged line of machinery, ever increasing input costs, and very volatile grain markets helped to make the decision easy to stop farming.
Ruby's Farm 2005 - 10 year averages for this farm was 167 bushels corn, 49 bushels soybeans.
The farm has an 86 CER.
The best corn crop was 214 bushels average over the scale.
In November of 2008, Ruby's Wetland Bank was approved and may be built in the fall of 2009.
January 26, 1869 - The property was granted from the state of Minnesota to the Southern Minnesota Rail Road. Granted ($00.00) so that they could build the railroad system.
The property was described as a farm containing 240 acres, more or less, according to Government survey thereof.
The abstract has been recorded on in excess of 100 times. Through various property exchanges, life, death, divorce, etc. It has been held together.
In 1909, a Ditch Lien was placed in the abstract to fund the properties share of Judicial Ditch No. 6. The ditch lien was for $1249.74 payable in 15 annual installments with general taxes, first principal payable with taxes payable in 1914. E.W. Allen was the owner then and for the cost of $83.32 per year or $0.35 per acre per year. This system was installed on his farm and began draining the wetlands.
The drainage system was funded in 1909 and installed soon there after.
In 1956, Lawrence and Shirley Ruby purchased the farm. Lawrence farmed corn and soybeans around the wetlands until in the early 1970's when he added tile to the system to finally dry them out.
Crop was lost every year due to flooding. He contoured the waterways and made the water flow and run off as much as possible.
In 1986 Dan Ruby joined Lawrence and farmed full time with him until his death in 2004.
In 2006, the farm was rented out after Dan Ruby had farmed 20 years.
Farming alone was no where near as pleasurable as farming with my parents. Farming with an aged line of machinery, ever increasing input costs, and very volatile grain markets helped to make the decision easy to stop farming.
Ruby's Farm 2005 - 10 year averages for this farm was 167 bushels corn, 49 bushels soybeans.
The farm has an 86 CER.
The best corn crop was 214 bushels average over the scale.
In November of 2008, Ruby's Wetland Bank was approved and may be built in the fall of 2009.
1938 DNR Land View Photo of Farm
Oldest known aerial photo of Ruby's Wetland Bank. North is up. Basins A, B, and C are clearly shown.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
County Signs Off on Wetland Project
County signs off on wetland project
By Ryan Brinks (November 28, 2008)
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The Jackson County Board of Commissioners weighed more concerns from neighbors but ultimately gave permission for landowner Dan Ruby to turn 60 acres of farmland on his property into a private wetland area.
The approval came Tuesday, two weeks after the proposal was first brought before the board and after modifications were made to settle some of the neighbors’ concerns.
A buffer between an earthen berm holding back water and property lines was increased from 20 to 60 feet and further calculations were presented to reassure both the board and neighbors that the project would benefit water drainage upstream and downstream.
Concerns persisted about tax implications from taking farmland off tax rolls, the condition of the century-old tile downstream and the possibility of pest problems.
“Being in production agriculture, we’re all managing risk,” said neighbor Tom Resch, who went on to add that while more information was offered on the drainage risk, not much was talked about regarding pests. “… If there are problems, we will be back looking for them to be corrected.”
What Ruby’s consultants, Chuck Brandel and Brooke Hacker of I and S Group, did offer was advice from Randy Markel, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife management specialist, who they say noted that a 50-foot buffer of tall grasses would keep Canadian geese from walking through and that the DNR offers up to $500 for fencing to help contain geese or other wildlife.
“Where you see problems with geese is with areas of mowed grass” added Brian Nyborg, manager of the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, who said he has not heard complaints following projects that changed drainage systems in his 14 years. “… If there’s a problem (around Ruby’s project), it’ll be minimal.”
The four commissioners present voted unanimously to allow the tile system to be opened in order to create the wetland project’s three basins. Board chair Bob Ferguson was absent.
Ruby anticipates work on the improvements to begin later next year.
By Ryan Brinks (November 28, 2008)
Print this page
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners weighed more concerns from neighbors but ultimately gave permission for landowner Dan Ruby to turn 60 acres of farmland on his property into a private wetland area.
The approval came Tuesday, two weeks after the proposal was first brought before the board and after modifications were made to settle some of the neighbors’ concerns.
A buffer between an earthen berm holding back water and property lines was increased from 20 to 60 feet and further calculations were presented to reassure both the board and neighbors that the project would benefit water drainage upstream and downstream.
Concerns persisted about tax implications from taking farmland off tax rolls, the condition of the century-old tile downstream and the possibility of pest problems.
“Being in production agriculture, we’re all managing risk,” said neighbor Tom Resch, who went on to add that while more information was offered on the drainage risk, not much was talked about regarding pests. “… If there are problems, we will be back looking for them to be corrected.”
What Ruby’s consultants, Chuck Brandel and Brooke Hacker of I and S Group, did offer was advice from Randy Markel, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife management specialist, who they say noted that a 50-foot buffer of tall grasses would keep Canadian geese from walking through and that the DNR offers up to $500 for fencing to help contain geese or other wildlife.
“Where you see problems with geese is with areas of mowed grass” added Brian Nyborg, manager of the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District, who said he has not heard complaints following projects that changed drainage systems in his 14 years. “… If there’s a problem (around Ruby’s project), it’ll be minimal.”
The four commissioners present voted unanimously to allow the tile system to be opened in order to create the wetland project’s three basins. Board chair Bob Ferguson was absent.
Ruby anticipates work on the improvements to begin later next year.
Letter to Commissioners from Brian Nyborg
JACKSON SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
603 South HWY 86
Lakefield, MN 56150
507-662-6682 Ext. #3
To: Jackson County Commissioners
Cc: Dan Ruby
Tim Stahl
From: Brian Nyborg
Date: 11/5/08
RE: Ruby Wetland Bank Hearing
I regret that I can not be at the hearing on November 10th, however would like to reassure you that this wetland banking application has been reviewed and scrutinized by the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) three times over the past year. These plans, as part of the TEP approval process, have also been reviewed by the Board of Water Soil Resources wetland engineers in St. Paul. Mr. Rubys consultants, I & S, have made several revisions to satisfy the TEP and this Banking Application is now approved. In addition, Tim Stahl has been involved with these TEP meetings from the beginning.
In my opinion there will not be a negative impact on the drainage system. In addition, this is not the first project of this nature. We have petitioned the Drainage Authority two other times and rerouted tile on numerous other private systems. To date, none of these wetland restoration projects involving tile reroutes on both private and public drainage systems have resulted in a negative impact on neighboring drainage.
Mr. Ruby, being the owner of this project will still be connected to the County Drainage System and will pay the drainage assessment. There will be no cost to the County Drainage System for the work to be completed.
603 South HWY 86
Lakefield, MN 56150
507-662-6682 Ext. #3
To: Jackson County Commissioners
Cc: Dan Ruby
Tim Stahl
From: Brian Nyborg
Date: 11/5/08
RE: Ruby Wetland Bank Hearing
I regret that I can not be at the hearing on November 10th, however would like to reassure you that this wetland banking application has been reviewed and scrutinized by the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) three times over the past year. These plans, as part of the TEP approval process, have also been reviewed by the Board of Water Soil Resources wetland engineers in St. Paul. Mr. Rubys consultants, I & S, have made several revisions to satisfy the TEP and this Banking Application is now approved. In addition, Tim Stahl has been involved with these TEP meetings from the beginning.
In my opinion there will not be a negative impact on the drainage system. In addition, this is not the first project of this nature. We have petitioned the Drainage Authority two other times and rerouted tile on numerous other private systems. To date, none of these wetland restoration projects involving tile reroutes on both private and public drainage systems have resulted in a negative impact on neighboring drainage.
Mr. Ruby, being the owner of this project will still be connected to the County Drainage System and will pay the drainage assessment. There will be no cost to the County Drainage System for the work to be completed.
Getting Back to Nature
PAGE: LOCAL NEWS from Jackson County Pilot
Getting back to nature
By Ryan Brinks (December 04, 2008)
When Jackson County resident Dan Ruby looks out from the porch of his house just off Highway 4 near Spirit Lake, he overlooks the farm equipment lying about. He glances past the outbuildings and looks beyond the debris of silos, feed floors and grain bins that are no more.
To say that what Ruby sees of the open field stretching out to the horizon is what it could become is only half right. He sees what it used to be.
“It would be nice to step out the back door and step back in time,” he said.
Back before he started farming 20 years ago; back before his father got the farm half a century ago; back before even the first settlers crossed that very land.
“It’s going to be remarkable to turn it back,” he said.
His turning back of 60 acres of farmland in order to recreate a wetland that was once there has been a risky dream that has consumed 2.5 years of contemplation, planning and blueprinting — all out of his own pocket.
Ruby said he fell in love with a lifestyle of hunting and fishing while taking his father, a boat and a trailer all over the outdoors.
The dream of bringing the outdoors to his back door first took shape during a conversation over estate planning, and in less than a year afterwards, Ruby was in contact with people ready to make it happen.
“But there were people all along the way that could have shut me down too,” he said.
The plan underwent a feasibility study and passed through the scrutiny of seven groups whose approvals were essential, he said, receiving among them the stamps of Minnesota’s Board of Water Soil Resources, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District and Jackson County.
The engineering work has had six revisions.
“I could have paved it all in far less time,” he said. “People are always doing things for the money and not necessarily what’s best for the environment.”
Ruby doesn’t deny that money plays a role in his project, too, though he notes that few others are willing to go to the lengths he has to make wetland restoration a reality.
“In the state of Minnesota, it’s valuable to have this sort of thing,” he said, referring to the state government’s Private Wetland Bank program that certifies preserved land for credits that corporations can purchase to offset their development somewhere else.
Corporate America destroys acres of land, he explained, and the wetland banking system makes them restore some of that.
Now all that stands between Ruby and those credits is construction of earthen berms and opening of the county tile system, slated to begin next October shortly after the soybean harvest.
From there, a regimented prescription of seeding will plant approximately 100 different kinds of grasses, sedges and rushes, including plants like wild rye, goldenrod and milkweed, all around the water.
“They want this to look as if it was never touched,” Ruby said. “When settlers first came, there were probably 50 types of native species. It was very diverse.”
Nestled in with the native plants will be food plots of corn, sorghum and sudacs for the wildlife his preserve will be managed to attract — specifically pheasants, together with some waterfowl.
“My goal is to see 100 birds in a day,” he said. “I think I could get 10 to 15 mating pairs.”
Then nature will take its course, sort of.
Ruby is responsible for the frequent weeding, occasional mowing and controlled burning every other year to ensure the wetland is properly established.
Within the first year, its transformation will be evident, but the government bodies who signed off on the project will continue to conduct intensive inspections for five years and then annual checks thereafter, he said.
The return on the 60 acres being restored next fall will determine when Ruby can expand the project to the rest of his 120 acres, he noted.
Already penciled into designs are eight locations for duck blinds, one easily accessible.
“I’d like it to be handicapped accessible, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be,” he said.
On the maybe list is a four-season gazebo for observation atop a hill.
That will all take time, though. Ruby expects some areas of his land will continue to be farmed until at least 2014.
“It’s fun. I look forward to having a contractor come in and build this thing,” he said.
In the meantime, there’s more to be rid of than the 140 tons of steel and dozens of old cars that once littered the acreage but have been removed so far.
“It’s more than a wetland restoration,” Ruby said. “It’s a farm cleanup project, like on steroids.”
And he vows to get it done, even if it takes him decades.
Getting back to nature
By Ryan Brinks (December 04, 2008)
When Jackson County resident Dan Ruby looks out from the porch of his house just off Highway 4 near Spirit Lake, he overlooks the farm equipment lying about. He glances past the outbuildings and looks beyond the debris of silos, feed floors and grain bins that are no more.
To say that what Ruby sees of the open field stretching out to the horizon is what it could become is only half right. He sees what it used to be.
“It would be nice to step out the back door and step back in time,” he said.
Back before he started farming 20 years ago; back before his father got the farm half a century ago; back before even the first settlers crossed that very land.
“It’s going to be remarkable to turn it back,” he said.
His turning back of 60 acres of farmland in order to recreate a wetland that was once there has been a risky dream that has consumed 2.5 years of contemplation, planning and blueprinting — all out of his own pocket.
Ruby said he fell in love with a lifestyle of hunting and fishing while taking his father, a boat and a trailer all over the outdoors.
The dream of bringing the outdoors to his back door first took shape during a conversation over estate planning, and in less than a year afterwards, Ruby was in contact with people ready to make it happen.
“But there were people all along the way that could have shut me down too,” he said.
The plan underwent a feasibility study and passed through the scrutiny of seven groups whose approvals were essential, he said, receiving among them the stamps of Minnesota’s Board of Water Soil Resources, Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District and Jackson County.
The engineering work has had six revisions.
“I could have paved it all in far less time,” he said. “People are always doing things for the money and not necessarily what’s best for the environment.”
Ruby doesn’t deny that money plays a role in his project, too, though he notes that few others are willing to go to the lengths he has to make wetland restoration a reality.
“In the state of Minnesota, it’s valuable to have this sort of thing,” he said, referring to the state government’s Private Wetland Bank program that certifies preserved land for credits that corporations can purchase to offset their development somewhere else.
Corporate America destroys acres of land, he explained, and the wetland banking system makes them restore some of that.
Now all that stands between Ruby and those credits is construction of earthen berms and opening of the county tile system, slated to begin next October shortly after the soybean harvest.
From there, a regimented prescription of seeding will plant approximately 100 different kinds of grasses, sedges and rushes, including plants like wild rye, goldenrod and milkweed, all around the water.
“They want this to look as if it was never touched,” Ruby said. “When settlers first came, there were probably 50 types of native species. It was very diverse.”
Nestled in with the native plants will be food plots of corn, sorghum and sudacs for the wildlife his preserve will be managed to attract — specifically pheasants, together with some waterfowl.
“My goal is to see 100 birds in a day,” he said. “I think I could get 10 to 15 mating pairs.”
Then nature will take its course, sort of.
Ruby is responsible for the frequent weeding, occasional mowing and controlled burning every other year to ensure the wetland is properly established.
Within the first year, its transformation will be evident, but the government bodies who signed off on the project will continue to conduct intensive inspections for five years and then annual checks thereafter, he said.
The return on the 60 acres being restored next fall will determine when Ruby can expand the project to the rest of his 120 acres, he noted.
Already penciled into designs are eight locations for duck blinds, one easily accessible.
“I’d like it to be handicapped accessible, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be,” he said.
On the maybe list is a four-season gazebo for observation atop a hill.
That will all take time, though. Ruby expects some areas of his land will continue to be farmed until at least 2014.
“It’s fun. I look forward to having a contractor come in and build this thing,” he said.
In the meantime, there’s more to be rid of than the 140 tons of steel and dozens of old cars that once littered the acreage but have been removed so far.
“It’s more than a wetland restoration,” Ruby said. “It’s a farm cleanup project, like on steroids.”
And he vows to get it done, even if it takes him decades.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Blog Under Construction
This blog will describe the life and times of Ruby's Wetland Bank.
We will gradually add information to describe the progress of this project and the availability of the wetland banking credits.
We will gradually add information to describe the progress of this project and the availability of the wetland banking credits.
The above photo represents the wetlands that were present prior to settlement.
Jackson County Minnesota, Middletown Township, Section 28 & 33
Jackson County Minnesota, Middletown Township, Section 28 & 33
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