Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts were awarded more than $17,000 for eight projects in eight counties for the 2016-17 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Mini-Grant Program. Conservation districts will use these grants to work with landowners to prevent pollution in our streams, lakes, and rivers. Projects will take place over the next nine months. The following projects were awarded up to $2,500 each as a part of the 2016–2017 CREP Mini-grant round:

County Conservation District	Amount Awarded
Allegheny	$2,500
Armstrong	$2,500
Beaver	$2,050
Berks	$2,500
Chester	$1,500
Columbia	$2,500
Jefferson	$1,500
Lebanon	$2,300

Click here to learn more about CREP. The CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by PACD through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Additional support is provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This summer the Indiana County Conservation District (District) was awarded a CREP mini-grant to work with and educate landowners about stream buffer planting and weed maintenance on local CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) land. The ultimate goal is to prevent pollution and improve water quality in our local streams, lakes, and rivers. The District used these grant funds to participate in multiple events as public educational opportunities, in addition to holding two workshops and one field day. These events focused on explaining the financial and environmental benefits of the CREP program. Through this grant, the District reached over 500 landowners with educational materials and hosted nearly 40 attendees at workshop and field day events. Attendees were educated on the identification and maintenance of noxious and invasive weed species, as well as the benefits of stream buffers and how to successfully plant them.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

   

The Snyder County Conservation District held a Stream Buffer and CREP Field Day event on July 28, 2016, in which thirty-five visiting and host farmers, landowners, a legislative aide, state government officials participated. The event included a tour of three farm sites. Representatives from Pheasants Forever, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PA DCNR-Bureau of Forestry, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and USDA-Farm Service Agency, relayed information about buffers, weeds, grass plantings, and CREP procedures. Click here to read more about the event.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

 

The 2015-16 round of Pennsylvania Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) mini-grants for conservation districts recently concluded. Thanks to the conservation districts and their partners, the program was a success! Some of the outcomes include:

• 20 projects were conducted
• 2,458 farmers and landowners were reached
• 11 field days/walkabouts were held
• 23 workshops were held
• 149 one-on-one visits were held
• 109 participants indicated they plan to enroll in CREP in the future
• 137 participants indicated they plan to re-enroll in CREP when their contract expires

Applications for the 2016-17 round of mini-grants were due August 19. Notifications of the projects funded in the new round will be made by August 31. Questions about the mini-grant program should be directed to swehinger@pacd.org.

The Westmoreland Conservation District hosted the first of two tours highlighting the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).  Participants visited Friendship Farms to see how they have protected streams on their property using riparian buffers, fencing, and stream crossings. To read more about the tour and CREP, click here.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

On July 15, the Cambria County Conservation District hosted an Intro to Invasives: Weeds, Trees, and Pests workshop at Disasters Edge in St. Michael, PA. Genny Christ, Cambria County Conservation District, introduced those in attendance to invasive and noxious weeds in the Cambria County region. Tom Ford, Penn State Extension, talked all about herbicides and the best ones for invasive and noxious weed control. Ryan Davis, Pheasants Forever, explained to the group “What is CREP?” and how not all weeds are bad.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

 

PACD is now accepting mini-grant applications for up to $2,500 to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the work of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment and/or CREP maintenance. Due to limited funds, only 5-10 projects will be funded this round. The deadline to apply is August 19, 2016. Click here for the guidelines. The application for the new CREP mini-grant program for conservation districts is posted here. Questions should be directed to Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

Berks County Conservation District hosted a CREP maintenance workshop on June 18, 2016 at a farm in Wernersville, PA. Mena Hautau, Penn State Extension, shared her knowledge of invasive weeds and weed identification. In the above photo, Mena is highlighting garlic mustard, which was found growing in the CREP buffer site along with several other invasive weeds.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

One of the ways you can keep informed about the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is the new Pennsylvania CREP: News and Updates newsletter. This quarterly newsletter is primarily for agencies, organizations, and individuals working with CREP and features stories, techniques, events, and other things of interest. It’s also a good place to start to learn about CREP if you are not familiar with this popular program. Take a few minutes and check it out now at https://conta.cc/25xCsU5. Some of the information you’ll find in the spring 2016 issue is a guide to the other tools the CREP Outreach Program Office has created to share information among CREP partners, with landowners already in CREP, and with people who are just learning about the program. You will also find links to the new CRP Conservation Practice Fact Sheets. These tools and fact sheets are resources that can be used in your CREP outreach and education efforts. Click here to see the newsletter. To receive future editions via email click the “Join our Mailing List” box in the newsletter. Please forward this along to others who may be interested. Send any questions, comments, or information you want to share about your CREP projects or techniques to info@creppa.org or contact Terry Fisher at tfisher@pacd.org or 717-238-7223.

The Berks County Conservation District designed a billboard for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Three billboards were displayed in the Tulpehocken watershed for 8 weeks, starting April 11, 2016. In addition to the billboard, the district is planning to hold a series of events including workshop on maintenance and invasive weeds and a field day. Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.