The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a program designed to reward landowners for implementing conservation practices on portions of their land.

CREP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, and implemented by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in conjunction with a host of local and regional partners, including Pheasants Forever, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Ducks Unlimited, the state Game Commission and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. This program is an enhancement of the Conservation Reserve Program developed in the 1985 Farm Bill.

CREP offers one of the biggest conservation payoffs in the state's agricultural history by offering to pay for up to 100 percent of the cost of installing many conservation practices and agricultural "best management practice" and adding on increased annual rental payments, annual maintenance payments and one-time only incentive payments. Program benefits include improved water quality, reduced soil erosion and improved wildlife and fisheries habitat.

Any producer or landowner can enroll inCREP, which is available for eligible marginal cropland, pastureland and land along non-forested streams. Continuous enrollment in CREP is available for a limited time, so producers should not wait to enroll in the program.

Finding the right conservation practice is the key to CREP's success. Consider the following:

• If you graze livestock near a stream, even a small one, consider streamback fencing, stream crossings, stock tanks and native tree and shrub plantings.

• If you have crop or hayland on a steep hillside and you are tired of battling soil loss and the risk of working the land, consider planting native warm- or cool-season grasses.

• If you have fields and pastures with low, wet spots or near flood-prone streams, a shallow water area or wetland restoration would be a perfect fit.

• If you have an old field with a non-forested stream running through it, native trees can be planted along the bare riparian zone.

The first step to enroll inCREP is to contact the Farm Service Agency and ask to be placed on the CREP interest list. A CREP biologist will visit you, review your options and determine eligibility.

Also, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Western Pennsylvania partners are holding a CREP workshop on Sept. 14. The workshop will be held at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds. The CREP workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Contact Shawn Cunningham at 724-459-0953, Ext. 112, to attend the workshop.