Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a federal/state partnership that conserves Idaho water, provides greater wildlife habitat and helps protect the state’s important aquifers. A very specific goal is directed toward one of our state’s most important aquifers. 

 “To reduce the use of irrigation water in the East Snake Plain Aquifer and an additional benefit of  improving the water quality, we’re not gonna have so much water running off.” That’s Ron Abbott, CREP’s Farm Programs Chief.

 CREP does all this by compensating private land-owners for voluntarily retiring land from production for 15 years.  Participating landowners enter into a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in which they pledge not to farm the land or use the water they would typically consume to produce a crop.  The saved water can then be used to address the State’s other pressing needs.  In return, FSA pays the landowner rent (an estimated statewide average of $118 per acre) each year over the life of the 15-year contract.  In addition, landowners are responsible to plant the idle land to an appropriate cover that prevents erosion, protects the topsoil and provides an enhanced wildlife habitat.  FSA also helps cover between 50 and 90 percent of the costs of installing these conservation practices.