I could sure use some help here
The county is planning to rezone a huge mass of land, they are not saying how much and I can't tell by the map they sent for an "economic growth corridor" within 1000 feet of my farm. I don't need to go into all the reasons I do not wish to have 24/7 truck traffic and 24/7 lit up like the moon on the boarder of my farm. They are planning for my new neighbors to be warehouses and light industrial. My guess is they are getting way ahead of themselves but are reserving the land mass for this purpose anyway. I doubt any thought has been given to an environmental impact study and I am at a loss how to go about requesting one done by someone other than the people that are pushing for this. I know I can't beat them but if I can slow the process down I would like to try. This land is being used for farming. They do not own it yet but they want to rezone all of it so they can move in when they find someone to build on it. I am new to this kind of thing on a personal level so I could use any advice any of you might have.
We have a few information meetings coming up to "educate the landowners". I will be there but I would certainly like to be armed with real information rather than just stomping my foot.
The area now drains into my large pond, that is a concern and from previous projects the county has done those down stream from what they do end up in a mess both with pollution and little or no planning for water movement. This area floods, not my farm, but just a few hundred feet down the road they have been under water several times in the last 20 years simply from large amounts of rain.
I have a lot of migrating waterfowl that stop yearly. I also have Bald Eagles that sit in my trees and hang out around the ponds. Light pollution will be a problem. Noise as well.
Where do I start? Please help if you have ever done anything like this and at least maybe I can go in with my mind calm and with information.
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and if so, demand a study on the impact on Bald Eagles and any waterfowl that stop at your ponds. In general, these are for federal projects but some states also have them for projects which may apply to your situation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_assessment#United_States
The important thing is to learn what you have power over, and what you don't. Having been in your shoes, I think it's helpful to accept the changes in your environment you don't have power over. Sometimes the changes bring benefits you hadn't counted on.
Best of luck. 
The fact that they're having public meetings makes me suspect that this project is pretty far along.
Try to find out if there is ANY federal money involved, and try to find out if a wetland delineation has been done. 
I can only speak for the way things work in my neck of the woods, but I have attended public sessions of the county board, city council, reclamation district, and other agencies groups to speak out about growth and zoning.
You are correct in that the plan looks toward future possible development.
Here, at least, EIRs are not conducted in establishing the plan, they come later when actual construction or changes become imminent or during the permitting process.
There are probably environmental groups that can and will help you, and if there aren't then maybe you'll be the pioneer who starts one.
You and a group of citizens can change the world, get out there and educate the kids and community, prevent irreversible damage to your environment.
Good luck!
I am or was unaware of the process but I would imagine this is the way it goes. They are simply rezoning right now. I am not in the rezoning area but am within 1000 feet. Perhaps my best allies here would be those who will be encircled by industry if and when it happens or having to leave land that means the world to them. I guess I should prepare something and go do a mailbox drop.
At the moment I simply can't imagine anyone anywhere coming to this god forsaken (or not depending on if you love the tea party and the governor) state but like all the other republican states we are taking from the poor and giving to the rich and paying corporations huge sums to locate their warehouses and supply depots here.
The plan is drawn up and sectioned off it is now for rezoning. As I said above I might be dead before any of this comes to pass.
Start an organization? Oh god not another one 
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The answer to your last statement is yes, we certainly can but it is a long hard battle. Is it worth doing? Yes it is. It may not change things for me but if it helps someone else or some other area then it will be worth it.
I have loads of little swales, my farm had berms for erosion control and unlike "serious" farmers I have let some trees grow up around them. They will stay wet for some time. Not large enough for waterfowl although I have flushed a few hanging out in them but there are other important things that certainly use and live in them when they are full, perhaps even when not.
Native prairie? You betcha. This farm was brome when I bought it, that poses it's own problems for someone wanting to stay as native as possible and as organic as possible. BUT, I do have lots of native, especially around the ponds and I created a native area with tons of native wildflowers and all kinds of native grasses. Where I am I am able to grow both tall and short grass prairie because we are kind of on the border of both of those areas. Plus, again as an independent farmer, I have allowed the areas with trees to expand and they are all native trees. It truly is a beautiful place.
The classification is Palustrine, semipermanently flooded, diked/impounded. I have one small area that does soak in. It was once a pond but sits at the low end of the property and was, by the time I bought the place just a very shallow area that holds water for a while when we get rain. My big pond gets it's water (and fish 
) from other ponds higher up in the area proposed for rezoning and some small springs. It then drains into a creek that drains into the river about 1/4 mile down in the valley. What comes into my pond eventually ends in a reservoir. My pond is the cleanest around, I am exceedingly careful about the fertilizer I need to keep the brome grass. My fish are clean and without parasites.
I will ask about the transportation study. Do you think it would be a bad idea to request that all of these studies be done before they rezone all the area? I mean really, it would be a waste of time to rezone and cause the land owners in that area distress if they are unable to provide documents ahead of time that show that this is a doable project wouldn't it?
I really could not care less about my property value. This is our retirement. We saved for it. The land is all in my personal trust, paid for when the rest of my family died and I had some money to do my hearts desire. I am closing in on 60 so when I go it all gets transfered to my sons. They will most likely sell it anyway. It is all about the regional ecosystem for me, that is one of the main reasons I did this farm. I wanted to be out here, I wanted animals around (ask my neighbors who are still wondering where their traps are....answer: in the bottom of my pond) and I especially value the water out here. It is my church, my heaven and it will not be if altered the way they are planning. Bottom line, the damed town was destroyed by flood in 2007. All this concrete is going to be higher than I am and I am above the flood plane but just barely. The entire area is loaded with all the wonderful things you can find if you love the country. I do not want to see it altered. God knows there are fewer and fewer places like this all the time.
Thank you for your suggestions. I have been working on this off and on all day. I have a letter of inquiry out to the Nature Conservancy asking for their advice. They actually have an office close to me. I was thinking the Army Corps was also a good place to start. As you can see I have had many suggestions here. Thank you and thank all of you. We were not given a lot of warning so this has cut my searching time down by quite a bit.
