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Ohio’s conservation efforts were bolstered in mid-October when a $207 million Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) for the Scioto River Watershed was announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Scioto River CREP is the third such program in Ohio, joining efforts to protect the water in the western Lake Erie Basin and along the Upper Big Walnut Creek.

CREP is a federal-state natural resource conservation program that addresses state and nationally significant agricultural related environmental problems. Under CREP, program participants receive financial incentives from USDA’s Farm Service Agency to voluntarily enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program in contracts of up to 15 years. Participants remove cropland and marginal pastureland from agricultural production and convert the land to native grasses, trees and other vegetation.

The Scioto River Watershed CREP targets the enrollment of 70,000 acres in 31 counties in the Scioto River Watershed. Of this amount, 5,000 acres are targeted for voluntary permanent conservation easements granted to the state of Ohio.

Funding for the Scioto CREP will support farmers’ efforts within the Scioto River Watershed to improve the quality of water in the river that is a main source of drinking water for the city of Columbus.

Counties entirely within the watershed are Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Madison, Pickaway, Ross and Union. Counties partially within the watershed are Adams, Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Crawford, Fairfield, Greene, Hardin, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Knox, Licking, Logan, Marion, Morrow, Perry, Pike, Richland, Scioto, Vinton and Wyandot. Major tributaries of the Scioto River are the Olentangy River, Big and Little Darby creeks, Paint Creek, Deer Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Salt Creek.

In announcing the CREP from Washington, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman praised Ohio’s history of leadership in soil and water conservation. More than 1,500 stream miles have been protected by the CREP in Ohio. These buffers trap more than 90 percent of the sediment from entering the streams and rivers.

"This partnership among USDA, the state of Ohio and local groups will result in cleaner drinking water for nearly 2 million Ohioans," Veneman said. "The program will have wide-spread benefits and improve water quality as far away as the Gulf of Mexico."

Deputy Secretary James Moseley was in Ohio for a signing ceremony in Circleville with Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Sam Speck.

OFBF’s Vice President of Agricultural Ecology Constance Jackson said producers

should look at how participation in the CREP would fit into their operations’ conservation and management plans.

"Producers should assess their operation resource concerns and identify areas of their farms where a CREP plan could eliminate sedimentation and erosion within the watershed," she said.

The program is a cooperative project among landowners, USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the Commodity Credit Corporation, ODNR and local soil and water conservation districts. Other partners include the city of Columbus, the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, OFBF and OSU Extension.

Planting grass filter strips, riparian buffers and hardwood trees throughout the CREP region will reduce agricultural pollution, soil erosion and the risk of downstream flooding throughout the watershed. These actions will improve drinking water quality for Columbus and surrounding communities, according to USDA.

Sign-up for the CREP, which is voluntary, will be announced later and will continue until enrollment goals are reached or through Dec. 31, 2007. Land enrolled in the program will remain under contract for 15 years.

Sign-up information is available from any FSA or county SWCD office within the watershed, or visit www.ofbf.org and click on Featured Links for Web sites about the CREP.

Caption: During the Scioto River CREP signing ceremony, representatives from the private and public sectors witnessed the actual signing of the documents by ODNR Director Sam Speck (seated left) and USDA Deputy Secretary Jim Moseley (seated right). OFBF’s Constance Jackson is standing behind Speck to the left. Photo courtesy USDA