Green Initiatives in Illinois
CONSERVATION
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
August 7, 2009
Illinois offers a tax incentive to promote the incorporation of vegetative filter strips, also called buffer or riparian zones, into statewide farmland. The measure, successful since its creation in 1997, is proven to reduce soil erosion and stormwater runoff that may carry pesticides and fertilizer into water sources downstream. Farmers with land that runs along any surface or groundwater body (such as ponds and streams) can have their property assessment reduced to one-sixth the registered value if they maintain an appropriate type and width of grasses and other vegetation between their crops and the waterway.
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