FACT SHEET

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY

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February 2011

 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program - Skaneateles Lake, New York

Overview

USDA and the city of Syracuse, 

New York, have launched a 

$900,000 Conservation Reserve 

Enhancement Program (CREP)

to safeguard the city’s drinking 

water.

CREP uses federal and state 

resources to safeguard environmentally sensitive land through 

the Conservation Reserve 

Program (CRP). Producers 

enrolled in CRP remove lands 

from agricultural production 

and plant native grasses, trees, 

and other vegetation to improve 

water quality, soil, and wildlife 

habitat. CRP is authorized by the 

Food Security Act of 1985, as 

amended. CREP provides rental 

payments and other financial 

incentives to encourage producers to voluntarily enroll in 10- to 

15-year CRP contracts.

Benefits

The Syracuse, New York, CREP 

will safeguard the city’s drinking 

water by restoring the Skaneateles Lake, one of the 11 Finger 

Lakes of central New York and 

the source of unfiltered drinking 

water for the 240,000 residents 

of Syracuse. The program will 

help producers install and restore 

riparian buffers that help prevent 

sediment, nutrients, and pollutants from entering the lake. The 

buffers will protect water quality 

and provide wildlife habitat for 

a wide array of wildlife species, 

like trout and pheasant.

Goals

The goals of the Syracuse CREP 

are to:

• Restore 1,000 acres of cropland or marginal pastureland 

that drain into the Skaneateles Lake watershed.

• Reduce the risk of pathogens 

from animal waste applied to 

pasture and cropland.

• Reduce sediment deposits 

attributable to cropland 

erosion in the lake and its 

tributaries.

• Reduce nutrient runoff from 

animal waste and fertilizer 

applied to adjacent cropland 

and pastures. 

• Assist the city of Syracuse to 

comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

• Enhance wildlife habitat.

Program Cost

The expected combined federal and city obligation is 

$900,000 over 15 years, with 

$650,000 coming from USDA 

and $250,000 from the city of 

Syracuse. This does not include 

any costs that may be borne by 

producers. Syracuse’s share is 

approximately 28 percent of the 

total program costs and USDA’s 

share is approximately 72 percent.

Eligible Areas

Producers with acreage in certain 

areas within the Skaneateles 

Lake watershed that meet the 

CREP and CRP eligibility 

requirements may offer land for 

enrollment. To find out if your 

operation is located within the 

project area, contact your local 

USDA service center.

Approved Conservation Practices

The following conservation practices may be eligible for enrollment into the Syracuse CREP:

• CP1 Establishment of Permanent Introduced Grasses 

• CP2 Establishment of Permanent Native Grasses 

• CP3 Tree Planting 

• CP3A Hardwood Tree Planting 

• CP6 Diversions 

• CP8A Grassed Waterways 

• CP15A Establishment of 

Permanent Vegetative Cover 

(Contour Grass Strips) 

• CP21 Filter Strips 

• CP22 Riparian Buffer

Signup and Eligibility Requirements

Eligible producers can enroll in 

10- to 15-year CRP contracts. 

The applicant must offer eligible 

acreage and satisfy the basic 

eligibility criteria for CRP. Land 

must be cropland that has been 

cropped 4 out of the past 6 years 

(2002-2007) and is physically 

and legally capable of being 

cropped. Marginal pastureland 

is also eligible provided it is 

suitable for use as a riparian buffer planted to trees. In addition, 

producers enrolling the land 

must generally have owned or 
FACT SHEET

CREP - Skaneateles Lake, New York February 2011

operated the land for at least 1 

year prior to enrollment. Persons 

with an existing CRP contract or 

an approved offer with a contract pending are not eligible for 

CREP until that contract expires.

CREP Payments

Syracuse CREP participants are 

eligible for four types of USDA 

payments:

• Signing Incentive Payment - a one-time payment 

consistent with Handbook 

2-CRP for land enrolled in a 

riparian buffer practice, filter 

strip, or grassed waterway. 

USDA makes this payment 

soon after the contract has 

been signed.

• Practice Incentive Payment 

- payment equal to about 40 

percent of the eligible cost 

for establishing the riparian 

buffer practice, filter strip, or 

grassed waterway practice. 

This payment is in addition to the 50 percent cost 

share assistance that USDA 

provides.

• Annual rental payment that 

is about 125 percent of the 

dryland cash rental rate for 

the county in which the land 

is located.

• Cost share assistance for 

installing the conservation 

practices on retired land.

The city will provide further 

cost-share assistance not to 

exceed 100 percent of the total 

eligible costs to establish eligible practices. The city will also 

develop a conservation plan 

and install additional conservation practices in order to protect 

water quality.

Enrollment in Other Programs

Applicants may still enroll in 

general or continuous signup 

CRP. However, CREP provides 

additional benefits not available 

through the general and/or continuous signup. For instance, the 

CREP enrollment process is on 

a continuous basis and payments 

are at a higher effective rate.

Haying and Grazing

Haying and grazing is not allowed during the CRP contract 

period unless USDA permits it 

for emergency purposes under 

normal CRP rules.

For More Information

For more information on the 

New York CREP, contact your 

local USDA service center, Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) office, or 

your local Soil and Water Conservation District office. 

Additional information is also 

available on FSA’s web site: 

www.fsa.usda.gov

The U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) prohibits discrimination in 

all of its programs and activities on 

the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial 

status, parental status, religion, 

sexual orientation, political beliefs, 

genetic information, reprisal, or 

because all of part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public 

assistance program. (Not all bases 

apply to all programs.) Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative means for communication 

of program information (Braille, 

large print, audiotape, etc.) should 

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 

(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., 

Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-

9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-

9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 

(TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English 

Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 

(Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is 

an equal opportunity provider and 

employer.

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