Posted on December 7, 2020 at 3:26 PM by Allan Warren
Before
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 other landowners to grow a different crop in streamside areas of their property – that crop is salmon habitat. 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.
After Planting
Farmers voluntarily enroll in the program to plant native trees and shrubs to create a “buffer zone” between their crop fields or pasture adjacent to CREP eligible streams. Livestock are excluded from the buffer along the stream and this zone of native vegetation
keeps the water cool and clean for salmon. The enrollment of the land as a buffer is
preserved under 10 or 15-year renewable contracts.
Second Fall
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, you may be interested in learning how the Washington State CREP could benefit you, your farm, and salmon. It is a win-win situation for Washington farms and fish.
Ninth Fall
Contact Paul Borne at
paulb@piercede.org and 253-845-9770 x 105 for more information.
Are you interested in learning more about CREP and how to enroll? Then join PCD on Monday, December 14th for a webinar from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Click Here to RSVP.