Have you seen them? Hundreds of four-foot-tall cylinders, as thick as your arm, along creeks throughout the watershed. Are they gas wells? Giant candles? Not at all. They are tree shelters, hollow tubes that protect the young trees inside from deer and rodents. They’re a sign that the landowner is being a good steward of the land, and doing important conservation work on their property. In return, the landowner is receiving substantial financial incentives.

We’ve long known that streamside forests help keep streams clean and cool, help to reduce bank erosion, and provide great habitat for fish, songbirds and other wildlife - but there’s more. Streams with trees can have five times more total life in them than streams without trees. That’s good. Streamside buffers also reduce the amount of pollutants that enter a stream.

Forested streams can remove 200 to 800 percent more nitrogen pollution than non-forested streams. That means clean water for people and for Chesapeake Bay. In Pennsylvania, stream life is adapted to the types of food and habitat provided by streamside forests. The greatest detriment to Pennsylvania stream health has been the loss of streamside forests. Replanting these trees is the single biggest step toward regaining healthy streams.

With much to be gained, conservationists have given high priority to stream buffer restoration. CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) has done more than all other efforts combined.

Since its beginning in 2000, CREP has planted trees on roughly 20,000 acres along some 1,700 miles of Pennsylvania streams. The cost of the work is nearly $40 million. The value is many times that.

EPA estimates that every dollar spent on preventing water pollution avoids $27 in cleanup costs at drinking water facilities.

CREP will also make annual rental payments totaling $30 million to participating landowners. The bulk of these costs are paid by federal funds, bringing needed conservation and income to Pennsylvania.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation works with USDA and other partners to deliver CREP buffers, stretching available funds. CBF has also restored more than 300 miles of buffers via its own programs, mostly before CREP began.

Landowners do not need to be farmers to participate in CREP. Most streams, even very small ones, that have no trees presently are eligible for CREP. The incentives are strong, with many projects earning $2,000-$3,000 per acre in profits.

CREP pays the cost of installation, provides financial incentives at the time of construction, and then pays rental payments over the life of the contract.

For more information visit the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program website or call 1-800-941-CREP.

1/19/2007