$500,000 Awarded To Indiana Conservation Program

CREP aims to reduce pollution and improve water quality by creating buffers and wetlands that will reduce high nonpoint source pollution from sediment, nutrient, pesticide and herbicide losses from agricultural runoff into the targeted watersheds.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) — Today, the Indiana Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) announced a grant that will total $500,000 to increase the number of soil conservation practices and improve water quality in watersheds throughout the Hoosier state. Funding was provided legal settlement from the Indiana Wildlife Federation.

As a partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, CREP aims to reduce pollution and improve water quality by creating buffers and wetlands that will reduce high nonpoint source pollution from sediment, nutrient, pesticide and herbicide losses from agricultural runoff into the targeted watersheds near the Wabash and White Rivers.

CREP participants remove cropland from agricultural production and transform land to native grasses, trees and other vegetation, to be in place for 14 years. This can also enhance the wildlife habitat, including state and federally listed threatened and endangered species. 

There has been a high interest by landowners and a large amount of CREP enrollment for years, which has resulted in demand exceeding available funding. As more participants enroll, the demand will continue to increase. 

To cover this demand, ISDA applied for a $500,000 grant from the American Electric Power Mitigation Money Fund. This $500,000 will support leverage over $3.5 million of federal USDA dollars that will go to landowners to make improvements.

“This funding will go a long way in helping to implement conservation practices such as filter strips, wetland restorations and bottomland timber plantings which will reduce pollution and improve water quality,” said Julie Harrold, the ISDA CREP Program Manager.  “We are very grateful for this support toward the CREP program.”

Executive Director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, Emily Wood, is eager to see more producers and land owners benefit from this program. 

“We were excited to award to the CREP program because it aligned so well with the goals of settlement and ISDA’s goals of targeting some of Indiana’s most impaired watersheds,” said Wood. “Supporting the CREP program incorporates long-term pollution reduction strategies, exceptional gains in wildlife habitat and the over-arching benefit of supporting our Hoosier farming communities.”