Riparian Buffer Establishment in Hampshire County with the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Partnerships

MORGANTOWN, WV, May 11, 2006—Hampshire County livestock producers find the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) attractive. The combined 90% cost-share rates of this riparian buffer program have made it popular.

CREP is reducing sediment and nutrients from agricultural enterprises from running off into the Potomac and eventually the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This federal-state land retirement program helps farmers protect the most environmentally sensitive lands next to the rivers and streams without impacting the economic viability of their farm operation. CREP focus is on improving water quality and enhancing wildlife habitats through the installation of riparian buffers, filter strips, tree planting, establishing grasses, and restoring wetlands.

CREP is administered by USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) with Federal and State partners. One fence building option for CREP participants is to contract with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They’ve provided fence building service to CREP participants at the 90% cost-share rate, which provides the fence at no cost to the producer. Producers may opt to have other fencing contractors build the fence to NRCS standards, or even to build the fence themselves. Total cost of any fence cannot exceed $2.36 per foot. Since the first CREP contract was written in Hampshire County in 2002, the NRCS Romney Field Office has overseen the installation of 12 ponds, 17 wells, 32,208 feet of pipeline, 76 watering facilities, and 5 stream crossings. Many livestock watering practices are planned for the next few years under CREP.

Hampshire County leads West Virginia in CREP participation accounting for over 75% of the state's CREP enrollment. To date, 103 tracts are involved in CREP and a total of 1,503 acres of buffer have been established. CREP issued $384,000 to participants in Hampshire County in 2005. This figure will more than double in 2006. Most of this acreage has been established as forested riparian buffers, however, six tracts with over 250 acres have been set aside as grass filter strips along streams where crops were previously grown.

Dry weather and less available livestock water in recent years in Hampshire County has increased interest in the CREP due to the option of installing alternative livestock watering systems. Pumped water from wells has been the most popular choice of additional livestock water.

“I didn’t have to cut ice (to provide livestock water) once last winter with this new watering trough.” reports one Hampshire County livestock producer. “The cattle weren’t hanging around the stream and making a mess since we built the fence.”

Many program participants like the improved wildlife habitat benefit on their farms. Native species of trees and shrubs that provide both food and cover for wildlife are being selected and planted.

Stream channels may include upland streams on steep ground. These areas don’t provide much forage production but offer habitat diversity on participating farms. While trees are coming back to many of these buffers naturally once the livestock are excluded, over 40,000 trees have been planted in Hampshire Co. under CREP.

For more information on the CREP program in West Virginia, go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crep.htm or http://www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/crep.html. For information on CREP in Hampshire County, contact Steve Ritz at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Romney Service Center at 304-822-3020 ext 101 or Steve.Ritz@wv.usda.gov

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