Creating a driftless area development and conservation authority and fund

This bill creates a driftless area development and conservation authority and the driftless area development and conservation fund. The authority shall be made up of no more than one voting member from each county of Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, Delaware, Fayette, Jackson, and Winneshiek, but membership or participation in authority projects is not required. The mission of the authority is to develop and coordinate plans for projects related to problems and opportunities in the driftless region of northeast Iowa. The authority shall cooperate with state and federal agencies and utilize the technical resources from member counties and the cooperating agencies. The authority shall administer the driftless area development and conservation fund, created by the bill in the state treasury, for conservation activities in the member counties. The bill does not affect the authority of the department of natural resources over public lands within the member counties. State agencies shall coordinate, cooperate, and consult with the driftless area development and conservation authority and its associated alliances for certain matters relating to the driftless area.