VAFM: Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Grant

The Vermont Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary initiative aimed at enhancing water quality by converting agricultural land into vegetative buffers. It offers financial assistance through state and federal funding, covering up to 90% of implementation costs for necessary infrastructure. Landowners receive upfront and annual payments for maintaining these buffers over 15 to 30-year contracts, thus incentivizing sustainable agricultural practices and protecting essential waterways.

Vermont’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary program designed to reduce sediment runoff and improve water quality by removing land from agricultural production and establishing vegetative buffers. State and federal funds are used to compensate landowners for the loss of productive agricultural land through upfront incentive payments and annual rental payments based on the total acreage dedicated to vegetated filter strips, forested buffers, or grassed waterways.
Financial Assistance
Federal cost-share and incentive payments are available to cover 90% of the implementation costs associated with fencing, alternative water systems, stream crossings, and vegetative buffer establishment. In most instances the costs may be 100% covered with help from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.The payments from CREP come from two sources, a lump sum payment once the state and federal contracts are signed, and annual payments for the next 15 years. The payments are based on the quality of soils within the buffer area and the type of agricultural use the land has had within the last decade. Contracts can either be 15 or 30 years, during which the buffers must be maintained by the contracted individual.