So you want to plant a riparian buffer on your property, but are wondering how to fund it? There are several state and federal sources of funds that you may be eligible for and which LandStudies details here.
DCNR Buffers Program
The Commonwealth has a goal of planting 95,000 acres of riparian forest buffers statewide by 2025 to improve waterways in Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay.
To help make that goal a reality the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a grant program for landowners wishing to install a forested buffer of at least 15 feet wide on each side of the stream/river.
The landowner signs an agreement of 25 years or more in exchange for receiving funds and technical assistance for the installation and short-term (3 years) maintenance of the buffer.
Click Here to learn more.
CREP Program
The PA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is available to the agricultural community within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to lease land around a stream or river on their property to a conservation organization to plant a riparian buffer.
The lease typically runs from 10 to 15 years and can be renewed. The program provides cost share to cover 50 to 100 percent of the cost of the buffer installation and maintenance.
Click Here to learn more.
DEP Special Projects
The Department of Environmental Protection has special project funds for landowners within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Click Here to learn more.
Federal Conservation Reserve Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides Conservation Reserve Program funds to the agricultural community in a similar fashion to the PA CREP program. There are two types of programs: one that has a designated sign-up period and one that has continuous registration.
Click Here to learn more.
Federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program
The USDA through the Natural Resources Conservation Service also offers funds through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to plan and implement conservation practices on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland.
Click Here to learn more.
Federal Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay Program and its partners offers many grant and cost-share programs for landowners in the Bay watershed (primarily agricultural but not exclusively), including Small Watershed Grants and Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants.
Click Here to learn more.
For more information on federal landowner technical and financial support program, visit the NRCS Pennsylvania webpage.
Landowners’ Guide To Incentives
These are just some of the many financial support opportunities that exist for installing and maintaining riparian buffers.
More information is available in the Landowner’s Guide To Conservation Buffer Incentive Programs in Pennsylvania published by the PA State Conservation Commission. The Guide catalogs major federal, state and private voluntary conservation programs that provide financial incentives to private landowners for the installation of conservation buffers.
Additional assistance is available from Landstudies, a Lancaster County-based firm dedicated to finding a better way to restore and protect the environment for a sustainable future.
For more information, visit the LandStudies website or contact Christine Le, 717-726-4440 or send email to: christine@LandStudies.com. LandStudies is certified as a Woman’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) based in Lititz, Lancaster County. Follow LandStudies on Twitter, Like them on Facebook.
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(Reprinted from LandStudies November newsletter. Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)
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