Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Returns  
    CREP Has Re-opened for Logan County

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement  Program (CREP) is designed  to retire environmentally sensitive ground into a 15-year federal program.  Landowners are paid a competitive rent per acre per year.  Once enrolled in the federal side of CREP, participants  have  the option of enrolling in the state side of CREP for additional cost sharing and one-time lump sum payments for various types of easements placed on the land.      CREP is a voluntary, incentive-based federal, state, and local conservation program that works with private landowners to establish conservation practices on erodible lands that help reduce runoff and sedimentation of waterways and enhance fish and wildlife habitat.      Ground in  the 100 year floodplain  is eligible as  well as very erodible  ground adjacent  to the floodplain which is being enrolled into CREP.  Land which is listed as prior converted wetlands may qualify as well.      The CREP program  offers  higher rental  payments than  the regular  Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). It also offers additional choices in seeding options.  The state easement options are only available through the CREP program.      The CREP program has been expanded to include the Illinois River Watershed and the Kaskaskia River Watershed. Illinois has a total allotment of 232,000 acres that may be enrolled in the program.  With this expansion, CREP will  now  be  available to  68 counties within  the  two watersheds.  The Illinois CREP is administered by the USDA FSA, IDNR, Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and 66 Soil and Water Conservation Districts.  The USDA Natural  Resources Conservation Service provides technical assistance and established a CREP Advisory Committee comprised of government agencies, agricultural, environmental and conservation organizations.      CREP  participants  receive incentive  payments,  annual  rental payments  and  cost-share assistance from  FSA, and participants who  choose one  of  the State Conservation Easement options receive additional cost-share assistance and a one-time lump sum payment based on soil rental rates and the duration of the easement.      Contact the Logan County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service at 217-735-5508, Ext. 3 for additional details.

August 19, 2015
The CREP Program has been suspended by the State of Illinois because of the budget impasse.  Once the budget problem is resolved, the District hopes that the program is reinstated.