DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa will get more than $24 million in federal economic recovery funds to develop perpetual floodplain easements on 4,200 acres of land to mitigate future flood damage.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack announced the funding and another $755,000 for a watershed project on Bear Creek in northeast Iowa as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Vilsack, now secretary of the USDA, said the 41 easements in Iowa will restore flood-prone areas to their natural state “to protect against future floods, improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat and reduce the need for future disaster assistance.”

The projects in 21 Iowa counties range from one parcel of land to several parcels, said Rich Simms, state conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service-Iowa. In some case, he added, a number of existing floodplains will be joined to form a larger, more uniform floodplain to improve floodplain management, he said.

Changing the land use from cropland to floodplain, he said, damage to upstream and downstream property can be reduced by allowing floodwaters to slow down and spread out, Simms said.

In many cases, Simms said, the land will be allowed to its original state. Grasses and trees will be planted. Levees built by the landowners won’t be repaired so as to allow the flow of water across the land.

By “selling” the government an easement, landowners give up development and land use rights but retain ownership “and the right to pay the taxes on the land,” Simms said.

Owners will be able to use the land for recreational purposes, such as hunting, and could rent the land to

hunters.

The USDA received 710 applications from Iowa landowners. To be eligible, the land had to have flooded twice in the past 10 years.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service will begin a Bear Creek watershed project on 26,000 acres in Winneshiek and Allamakee counties and 9,000 acres in Houston County, Minnesota, Simms said. Bear Creek feeds into the Upper Iowa River.

The $755,000 project will involve 52 small watershed dams, which Simms described as larger than farm ponds, “but built and engineered the same way.”

The project will protect the water supply and water quality, providing $844,000 in annual benefits, he said.

Floodplain easements (County, number of easements):

Black Hawk, 2; Bremer, 1; Buchanan, 2; Butler, 2; Carroll, 2; Cedar, 1; Chickasaw, 1; Clayton, 2; Delaware, 1; Fayette, 1; Hancock, 1; Iowa, 2; Kossuth, 1; Linn, 1; Louisa, 8; Lucas, 2; Mahaska, 2; Scott, 2; Washington, 2; Winnebago, 4; Winneshiek, 1