Ag Related Disaster Discussion Slated For 59th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show

North Dakotans know the toll the oilfield traffic has taken on state roadways. To a lesser extent, people realize that the weather conditions North Dakota has experienced the last few years also have contributed to serious road problems within the state. To address disasters as they relate to the ag community, with an emphasis on the road conditions rural North Dakota must deal with, the 59thAnnual National Hard Spring Wheat Show Committee has asked Greg Wilz, North Dakota Homeland Security director, to speak during the Tuesday, Feb. 7 session of the Wheat Show, held at the Williston Airport International Inn. Wilz will speak during the Tuesday noon luncheon.

“I’ll be focusing on the effect of disasters on the ag community,” Wilz remarks. “I’ll talk about the disasters North Dakota has seen in terms of the impacts they have had.”

He continues, “The roads are dreadful, and this goes beyond the oil field impacts. Natural disaster impacts, such as record snowfall, have left roads in part of the state where people can’t even get to their fields.”

Wilz points out that over the past three years, North Dakota has lost roads that will never be usable again. “The state will have to rebuild or reroute many of these roads,” he says. “At one level, rural roads where there is oil activity are an issue, but outside of the oil impacts, there’s another issue. Through snow and flooding, over 1400 roads in North Dakota need a grade raise on parts of them as they are still under water. The constant moisture has filled up the prairie potholes, and North Dakota is the heartland of these prairie potholes. Some areas that have been dry for the last 20 years are now back in sloughs and marshes.”

Wilz, since January of 2006, has reorganized the Department of Emergency Services into two divisions and has restructured the state’s planning and response process. He believes the state needs to take a proactive approach in supporting local governments.

During his tenure as director, Wilz has supported 11 declared presidential disasters and numerous state declared emergencies.