Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program 

– Montana Upper Clark Fork River Basin

(CREP)

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

and the State of Montana are partners in 

implementing a voluntary Conservation 

Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to 

enroll up to 66,400 acres in all or portions 

of Granite, Powell, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, 

Lewis and Clark and Missoula counties. 

The Montana Upper Clark Fork River Basin 

(UCFRB) CREP is intended to improve water 

quality, reduce soil erosion, reduce the 

amount of sediment, phosphorous and other 

pollutants entering waterbodies, restore 

wetlands, maintain and enhance grasslands 

on uplands associated with adjacent riparian 

areas and create and improve habitat for 

terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

Background

CREP is part of the USDA Conservation 

Reserve Program (CRP). CRP is a federally 

funded voluntary program that contracts 

with agricultural producers so that 

environmentally sensitive agricultural land 

is not farmed or ranched, but instead used 

for conservation benefits. CRP participants 

establish permanent, resource-conserving 

plant species, such as approved grasses or 

trees (known as “covers”) to control soil 

erosion, improve water quality and develop 

wildlife habitat. In return, the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) provides participants with 

rental payments and cost-share assistance. 

With CREP, high-priority conservation goals 

are identified by the state, and then federal 

funds are supplemented with non-federal 

funds to achieve those goals.

Through the Montana UCFRB CREP, federal 

and state resources are made available to 

program participants to voluntarily enroll 

in CRP for a minimum of 14-year, not to 

exceed 15-year, contracts. Participants 

remove cropland from agricultural 

production and convert the land to filter 

strips, riparian buffers or permanent grasses 

and forbs, or restore wetlands. Participants 

will also maintain and enhance grasslands by 

limiting future development and cropping 

uses of the land. This will improve water 

quality, reduce soil erosion, increase water 

infiltration, and improve wildlife habitat.

Goals

The goals of the Montana UCFRB CREP are 

to:

• Reduce sediments, nutrients and 

agricultural chemicals entering 

watercourses;

• Maintain and enhance grasslands on 

uplands associated with adjacent riparian 

areas;

• Improve habitat for aquatic and terrestrial 

wildlife; and

• Restore wetlands.

Eligible Conservation 

Practices

The following specific CRP conservation 

practices are available:

• CP1 Establishment of Permanent 

Introduced Grasses and Legumes;

• CP2 Establishment of Permanent Native 

Grasses;

For More Info

CREP is one option under CRP 

that farmers and ranchers may 

select to enhance their land. 

Eligible producers may also enroll 

land in CRP through the general, 

continuous, or grassland signups; 

however, CREP may provide 

additional benefits not available 

through those signup types such 

as higher incentive payments 

and longer contract lengths that 

increase the total amount of rental 

payments received.

Montana State Farm Service 

Agency

10 E Babcock Street - Rm 500

PO Box 670

Bozeman, MT 59771-0670 

(406) 587-6872

(855) 546-0264 fax

For more information, contact For 

more information on this project, 

contact your local service center 

and USDA Farm Service Agency 

office: farmers.gov/servicelocator.

APRIL 2022 MONTANA
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. fsa.usda.gov

CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM 2

Eligible Conservation 

Practices (continued)

• CP21 Filter Strips;

• CP22 Riparian Buffer;

• CP23 Wetland Restoration;

• CP23A Wetland Restoration, NonFloodplain;

• CP25 Rare and Declining Habitat - 

Sagebrush steppe;

• CP29 Marginal Pastureland Wildlife 

Habitat;

• CP30 Marginal Pastureland Wetland 

Buffer; and

• CP88 Permanent Grasses and 

Legumes. 

Enrollment 

and Eligibility 

Requirements

Enrollment for the Montana UCFRB 

CREP is on a continuous basis. To be 

eligible, land must be located in the 

project area and be either cropland, 

marginal pastureland or grassland. 

Cropland must meet cropping history 

criteria and be physically and legally 

capable of being planted in a normal 

manner to an agricultural commodity. 

Marginal pastureland is eligible for 

enrollment provided it is suitable for use 

as a riparian buffer, wildlife habitat, 

or wetland buffer. Irrigated cropland 

must meet minimum irrigation 

requirements and be physically and 

legally capable of being planted and 

irrigated in a normal manner when 

offered for enrollment.

Grassland is also eligible for 

enrollment provided it is devoted to 

practice CP88, and is immediately 

adjacent to land enrolled as a CP21, 

CP22, CP23, CP23A, CP29 or CP30. 

Grassland offered for enrollment will 

be evaluated, scored and ranked to 

determine eligibility. In addition, the 

number of grassland acres eligible for 

enrollment is limited, per contract, to 

not more than four times the number 

of acres enrolled as an eligible adjacent 

practice. 

Payments

Under the Montana UCFRB CREP, 

eligible participants may receive the 

following payments from USDA:

• A cost-share payment of up 

to 5 percent of the eligible 

reimbursable cost to install certain 

approved conservation practices.

• An annual rental payment 

consisting of:

◊ A base soil rental rate, 

determined by the type of 

land offered; 

◊ An incentive payment equal 

to 20 percent, as a percentage 

of the base soil rental rate, 

for practice CP1, CP2, CP21, 

CP22, CP23, CP23A, CP29 

and CP30; and

• A maintenance payment, 

determined by the practice 

offered.

In addition, the State of Montana 

provides cost-share payments equal to 

95 percent of the eligible reimbursable 

cost to install certain approved 

practices. 

Enrollment

CREP is another option under CRP 

that farmer and ranchers may select to 

enhance their land. Eligible producers 

may still enroll eligible land in CRP 

through general or continuous 

enrollment authority; however, the 

Montana UCFRB CREP provides 

additional benefits, such as 95 percent 

cost-share from the State of Montana, 

not available through the general and/

or continuous enrollment. 

Haying and Grazing

Contact your local FSA office for more 

information about authorized haying 

and grazing activities.