Conservation and Restoration Consulting

Program goals:

• These programs are initiated to control water quality of streams and tributaries by reducing erosion and silt deposits from farms adjacent to these water flows.
• By offering the landowners a payment for a period of 15 or 30 years or a permanent easement restricting crop production, grazing and building construction on their farm, the government can significantly reduce the erosion on those farms.
• In addition, the government will pay for improving the land with permanent native grasses and reforestation of those lands to further reduce erosion.
• The added benefit to the landowner is the improvement of wildlife habitats, which make the farms desirable for leasing or selling to sportsmen and/or marketing to individuals who demand a remote location for a primary or secondary home.
• The net effect of this program is the federal government has paid the landowner for the easement rights and for the conservation and recreational improvements that add value to the owner's farm. In addition, the improvements, particularly the reforestation, can reduce the real estate taxes to approximately 1/6th of the rate when it was used for agricultural production.

The Farm Service Agency administers conservation and environmental programs and activities to conserve our Nation's natural resources, including land water, air, and wildlife.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Through CRP, landowners receive annual rental payments to put farmland into environmentally friendly conservation uses. They also receive cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving practices.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is an offshoot of CRP. CREP is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners in which State priorities drive program enrollment. State and Federal partnerships allow participants to receive incentive payments for installing specific conservation practices. Through CREP, farmers can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term conservation measures on land.

Eligible farmers and ranchers may also enroll their land in filter strips, riparian buffers, grass waterways, and other similar practices at any time. These practices protect fragile streams and rivers from eroding soil and chemical runoff. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, offers financial and technical assistance to participants who install or implement structural and management practices that help reach conservation goals.

Program facts:

• Trees on CRP land remove an estimated 3.7 million tons of carbon per year from the atmosphere.
• CRP provides environmental benefits estimated to total more than $2 billion per year.
• Since its inception in 1986, CRP has produced dramatic improvements in the health and size of wildlife populations.