09/02/24 - 146 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/yck6vkb4
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Spotlight - Get Paid For Planting Streamside Tree Buffers To Improve Water Quality, Habitat
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Spring is the perfect time to plant trees. And establishing a streamside forested buffer will not only help protect water quality, it will attract wildlife by providing much-needed habitat.
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), a federally funded program, provides landowners and farmers with the resources to design and install these buffers. CREP also pays annual rental payments to the landowner.
There are many benefits to forested buffers, including preventing pollutants from reaching streams, creating wildlife habitat, and improving water quality. Streamside trees also help reduce stormwater and flooding problems by slowing down and absorbing rainwater as it moves across the land.
Buffers also provide recreational opportunities like wildlife and bird watching, and they improve property values. Streamside trees provide an aesthetically pleasing environment, while helping to keep the soil in place. Eroding stream banks mean property loss, both in physical acreage and value.
Stephanie Eisenbise, Pennsylvania CREP Outreach Coordinator with CBF, works with groups and individuals throughout the region to introduce them to the program and help them establish buffers on their properties and in their communities.
From watershed groups restoring streams to sportsmen's groups creating native wildlife habitat—CREP is an excellent resource to help landowners plant trees along streams.
Groups have held community meetings, events, and even hosted volunteer plantings in order to help Eisenbise get others involved. "It's exciting to help landowners get started with CREP," says Eisenbise, "and even more so to see the results and local water-quality improvements."
For more information, visit the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program website.
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5/9/2011 |
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