Newly-approved wetlands will benefit area's family farmers

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Harry Lewis, a Hopkins County ag producer and long-time advocate for family farmers, holds his "next generation" of family farmer, granddaughter Kan'dis Shy'anne Lewis, next to the marker which officially designates 20 acres, and a portion of Rock Creek, as property forever enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program. -Staff photo by

April 8, 2004 -- The Lewis family farm's name will now live in history, forever, due to the recent approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to have 20 acres on the farm accepted into the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP).

The farm, located in eastern Hopkins County, was started in 1940 as a Grade B dairy, but now, the second generation owner, Harry Lewis, is converting the Grade A milking operation to an organic dairy. Lewis also raises hay and organic vegetables. He and wife Billie keep a few horses around for riding and breeding.

Lewis has long been an advocate for family farmers, and having about one-seventh of the farm's total acreage designated as a wetlands is something he feels is positive for the area's ag producers.

"Many of the lands in this area are owned by family farmers, and this can keep politicians and (big industry) from coming in and doing something you don't like, like dumping into the creek," he said.

The wetlands area on Lewis' property is adjacent to Rock Creek, which collects water that drains from the city of Sulphur Springs, and carries it to a larger tributary, White Oak Creek. Because of the city's continued growth, and added drainage ways, the creek's water flow has increased.

"We have a roadbed to get across the creek, to get to the 20 acres over there, but it just keeps getting washed away," Lewis explained.

Now, with the WRP designation, contractors hired by the government will design a passage across the creek, under the plan designed by a NRCS biologist. Plans to improve the wetlands' environment will also be created by the biologist.

One thing for sure about the new wetlands area, it will forever be on the books, attributed to the Harry Lewis farm family.

Because the 20 acres is practically inaccessible now, Lewis does not farm the land, so the WRP option was a good one for him and his family. "This was ideal for me. It fit me and my family and we were interested in preserving the land and protecting the land from industrial (companies).

"We want people, like school kids and city people, to be able to come out here and see the natural environment, ... the birds and water fowl," Lewis explained.

With the WRP designation of the land, Lewis doesn't lose ownership of the land, yet the government has an easement, and "a say over it," he explained.

"This program is not for everyone," he continued.

But in a situation where the land is not easily assessable or profitable, yet it is suitable for wildlife benefits, the WRP could be a viable option for landowners.

Jim Wyrick, NRCS district conservationist for Hopkins-Wood-Rains counties, said the state paid an easement fee to Lewis for the land - about a fourth of what the land is worth in today's market.

Wyrick explained there are a couple of options for landowners interested in enrolling in WRP, including various-year easements, or a perpetual easement. Lewis opted for the perpetual. With this easement, the USDA pays 100 percent of the costs of restoring the wetlands; and the government has the easement "forever," Wyrick said. "There's no way out of it."

Another example is the 30-year easement, which gives the goverment access to the landowner's wetlands for 30 years; and easement payments are 75 percent of what would be paid for a permanent, or perpetual, easement.

Lewis explained that his brother, Robert (now deceased), started the idea of having the 20 acres placed in the WRP. "We weren't sure it would qualify, but surprise, it did," he said.

Once the land and waterway was reviewed and the WRP designation approved, final paperwork and clearance began. "It took close to two years to get it all done," Lewis said.

"That's not typical," Wyrick said about the timeframe. "Usually it can be done in about 90 days. ... This (WRP project) wasn't something Harry had to do, but it was something he wanted to do. Environmentally it protects this land."

Lewis concluded, "I look at it as a tribute to my family, and friends, ... and that makes me happy. This is a win-win situation."