Iowa DNR would be barred from bidding on land at auction under bill advancing in Iowa

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources would be forbidden from bidding on land at auction under a bill in the Iowa Legislature that faces opposition from conservation groups.

Senate File 2324 would block the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from purchasing land at auction. The DNR would only be allowed to buy or acquire land from a willing donor or seller.

The department would not be allowed to acquire property from a nonprofit that purchased the land at auction.

The bill advanced through a three-member House subcommittee Tuesday but it was not brought up for a vote in the full House State Government Committee on Wednesday, potentially killing its chances of remaining alive past Friday's second legislative "funnel" deadline.

Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, said some of his fellow Republicans shared concerns about the bill with him so he decided to pull it from the committee's calendar.

"We’ll see what future avenues exist moving forward but today we’re just putting a pause on the bill," he said.

For bills to survive the second funnel they must pass a full chamber and through a committee in the opposite chamber. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 28 on a 30-17 vote.

But Harris on Wednesday declined to say the bill was dead for the year.

"Nothing’s ever dead in this building," he said.

A coalition of conservation groups showed up at Tuesday's meeting to speak against the bill, saying Iowans want more public lands. Republican supporters of the bill say it codifies current DNR policy.

Harris argued the legislation sets out a fair policy for farmers. And he accused opponents of using "scare tactics" to rile up opposition.

"At the end of the day, I’m not going to let the scare tactics work," he said. "I believe with all my heart that this is good policy that was created by the DNR. This bill would not change a single thing. It does not threaten public lands any more than the current policy does."

The legislation follows several unsuccessful years of efforts by the Republican-controlled Legislature to limit the DNR's ability to purchase land for public use or accept donated land.

Anna Gray, public policy director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, said her group opposes the bill. She said she views it as a distraction from other priorities lawmakers could focus on to strengthen Iowa's outdoor recreation and conservation opportunities.

"We see it as adding unnecessary restrictions to landowners and on landowners who sell their property," she said. "And it will result in a lot of missed opportunities to strategically protect land regardless of how significant the public benefit might be."

Kevin Kuhle, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, was one of two people to speak in favor of the bill Tuesday. He called farmers "the original and best stewards of the land."

"In the past, our farmers have had concerns about government dollars competing against farmers for land purchases," he said. "We appreciate that the state has stated that they are largely not competing for land … and we appreciate that the bill brought forward will codify this practice."

More: Iowa losing mid-size farms as smallest, largest ones increase, new U.S. ag census shows

Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, said urban sprawl is a far larger threat to farmland than purchases by the Department of Natural Resources. He said at the rate the DNR is currently buying land, it would take them 200 years to increase the amount of public lands in Iowa by 1%.

"Are our farmers concerned about 200 years from now losing 1% when development, urban sprawl, is growing at a clip of 26 times that?" Baeth said. "Let’s define what our problem is, if there is a problem, and go after that."

According to the DNR, about 1% of Iowa's land is public land controlled by the DNR.

Over the last two decades, Iowa has lost nearly 1.8 million acres of farmland to development and other uses, for a 5.5% decline, according to the latest U.S. Census of Agriculture. Nearly 586,000 farm acres were lost in the last five years.

Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, the third member of Tuesday's subcommittee, supported the bill.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bill barring DNR from buying land at auction stalls in Iowa Legislature