CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (CREP)

Washington State’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary program designed to benefit farms and fish by incentivizing streamside habitat restoration. CREP pays farmers and landowners to grow a different crop in streamside areas of their property – that crop is habitat for salmon. This joint program is administered at the federal-level by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), at the state-level by the State Conservation Commission (SCC), and at the local level by conservation districts. View CREP flyer.

Farmers voluntarily enroll in the program to plant native trees and shrubs to create a “buffer zone” between their crop fields or pasture and eligible streams. Cropping activities and livestock grazing are excluded from the buffer area and the newly planted zone of native vegetation grows to buffer and shade the stream - keeping the water cool and clean for salmon. The enrollment of the land as a buffer is preserved under 10 or 15-year renewable contracts.

Crop field before CREP	Crop field after CREP

Landowners are assisted by a conservation district CREP technician to design a buffer vegetation plan and get the plants installed. Project costs are paid by the program and farmers receive annual rental payments for the land they enroll. Project oversight and buffer maintenance is provided for 5 years after planting to ensure that the trees and shrubs grow healthy and strong.

If you have unused land choked with blackberry and bordering a stream, learn how the Washington State CREP could benefit you, your farm, and salmon. It is a win-win situation for Washington farms and fish.