Cash incentives for salmon habitat can help fish and landowners
In recent years, the public
has developed a heightened
interest in the health of Ameri
ca’s rivers, streams and wet
lands. The wish to have clean
water suitable for humans, fish
and wildlife is shared by every
one.
A large portion of Columbia
County, however, is privately
owned. Most landowners find it
difficult to justify spending mon
ey on stream improvements
that have public value, but little
private benefits.
The state of Oregon has
tried to address this dilemma
by partnering with the US De
partment of Agriculture through
a voluntary program called the
Conservation Reserve En
hancement Program (CREP).
This program, offered to private
landowners, provides annual
payments and cash incentives
to those interested in planting
buffers of trees and shrubs
and, if needed, installing fence
to limit livestock access on po
tential salmon streams. (Anoth
er program with similar bene
fits, the Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP) may apply on
non-salmon streams.)
Land is eligible for CREP if
it borders streams in cropped
or grazed fields. Buffer widths
usually range from 35 to 180
feet, depending on the topog
raphy and the owner’s prefer
ence.
Landowners must plant
buffers and fence any livestock
out of the streamside zone dur
ing the first year. CREP will pay
75 percent of the cost of instal
lation, as well as assisting with
water developments for stock,
if necessary. Property owners
agree to maintain the practices
for 10 to 15 year periods so
that the plantings have suffi
cient time to establish.
Since the American public
supports clean water initiatives,
the federal government and
state of Oregon have made
CREP worthwhile financially.
For landowners willing to install
stream buffers, a variety of
payments are extended.
Landowners receive rental
payments based on the leasing
value of the land. In Columbia
County, for example, marginal
pastureland is currently set at a
rate of $66/acre along a peren
nial stream. Landowners who
put 10 acres of pasture, or a
150-foot-wide buffer along
2900 feet of stream, into CREP
receive $660/year in rent.
(Cropland rates vary based
upon the soil types of the of
fered acres.)
CREP pays an extra 50%
annual rental payments to
landowners who install tree
and shrubv buffers next to
salmon streams. Referring to
the above example, the incen
tive would be $330 (50% of the
$660) to total $990 in annual
rent.
Property owners also re
ceive up to $10/acre for main
taining plantings, fencing and
water developments installed
through the program. Using the
abbve 10 acres example, this
total would add an additional
$100/year.
Landowners will also re
ceive a one time payment for
signing a CREP contract. This
is calculated by taking $10 per
acre times the contract length.
On 10 acres with a 15 year
contract,
$1,500.
the
incentive
is
Also available is a one time
payment incentive providing an
additional 40 percent cost-
share payable after the prac
tices are installed. For exam
ple, if it costs $5,000 to install
fencing and tree plantings,
when complete, the enrollee
receives $2,000 beyond the
normal cost-share of 75 per
cent.
In some rare cases, the en
rollee may also be eligible for a
cumulative bonus impact in
centive. This incentive is de
signed to encourage owners,
and possibly adjoining land-
owners, to enter larger stretch
es of streams into CREP. Larg
er stretches have a greater im
pact than small lengths of
stream. If landowners apply buf
fers on a least 50 percent of a
five-mile stretch of river, they
qualify for this incentive. This is
calculated by multiplying the
rental payment by four, then by
the acreage. In this example:
$66 x 4 x 10 acres = $2,640.
The Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program can
provide the best of both worlds.
While giving private landown
ers some economic incentive
for installing costly stream
buffers, it, in turn, provides the
public with environmental val
ues needed to improve the
health of Oregon’s streams and
rivers.
For more information about
CREP or other conservation
programs, contact the Colum
bia Soil and Water Conserva
tion District and the Natural Re
sources Conservation Service
in St. Helens at 503-397-4555.
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