Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is an opportunity for landowners to voluntarily enroll agricultural lands into conservation practices, such as stream buffers, filter strips, wetland restorations, and grass waterways. These practices aim to protect water quality by filtering out soil and nutrients from cropland before it gets to a stream or pond. A secondary benefit is creating wildlife habitat with the establishment of prairie and tree plantings and wetland restoration. Public access is not required on enrolled acres, and land remains assessed as agricultural land for property taxes.

Eligible lands are within 150 feet of a stream or water body. You may be eligible if you have lands that fall within designated towns in the county, have cropping history or meet marginal pastureland qualifications.

Just like regular Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) USDA offers annual payments for enrolled acres based on soil type. The payments range from $61 to $237 an acre, paid annually for a 15-year contract.

In addition, the State and USDA offer an added up-front incentive payment that ranges from $163 to $359 per acre, based on soil type.

For landowners looking for permanent protection of their land, the state will enroll the land in a perpetual conservation easement. The incentive for this option is $600 to $2200 per acre, again based on soil type.

The installation of conservation practices are cost-shared from 95% to 110%. For more information on the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, call Serge Koenig at 608-355-4837 or email him at serge.koenig@saukcountywi.gov.

For more information visit the State Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection website (see link below).