Pennsylvania 

Ohio River Basin

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 

are partners in implementing a voluntary 

Conservation Reserve Enhancement 

Program (CREP) to enroll up to 40,000 

acres in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, 

Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, 

Forest, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, 

Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland 

counties to improve the quality of surface 

water, groundwater, and wildlife habitat 

by establishing riparian buffers, native 

and other grasses, shallow water areas 

for wildlife, grassed waterways, and the 

restoration of wetlands. The Pennsylvania 

Ohio River Basin CREP will also contribute 

towards decreasing the Gulf of Mexico’s 

hypoxia zone through nutrient loading 

reduction.

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 Pennsylvania Ohio River Basin 

CREP, federal and state resources are 

made available to program participants to 

voluntarily enroll in CRP for a minimum of 

10-year, not to exceed 15-year, contracts. 

Participants remove cropland and marginal 

pastureland from agricultural production and 

convert the land to grasses, trees, and other 

vegetation or restore wetlands. This will 

improve water quality, reduce the amount 

of sediment, phosphorous, nutrients, and 

other pollutants entering waterbodies, and 

improve wildlife habitat. 

Goals

The goals of the Pennsylvania Ohio River 

Basin CREP are to:

• Restore and protect wetlands

• Reduce the amount of sediment, 

nutrients, and other pollutants entering 

the Ohio River and other waterbodies

• Establish riparian habitat corridors next 

to streams, estuaries, and wetlands

• Establish permanent cover on highly 

erodible land to reduce erosion, enhance 

water quality, and create wildlife habitat

• Improve water quality to facilitate the 

health of fish and wildlife populations

Conservation Practices

Specific CRP conservation practices are 

available to be enrolled as follows.

On highly erodible land (HEL) which meets 

minimum erodibility criteria as determined 

by FSA:

• CP1, Establishment of Permanent 

Introduced Grasses and Legumes

• CP2, Establishment of Permanent Native 

Grasses 

• CP4D, Permanent Wildlife Habitat, NonEasement

• CP12, Wildlife Food Plot

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.

For more information on this 

project, contact your local 

service center and USDA 

Farm Service Agency office: 

farmers.gov/service-locator.

Pennsylvania State Office

Farm Service Agency

359 East Park Drive, Ste 1

Harrisburg, PA 17111

(717) 237-2113

(855) 778-8909 fax

This fact sheet is provided 

for informational purposes 

only; other restrictions or 

requirements may apply. 

APRIL 2022 fsa.usda.gov

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. fsa.usda.gov

CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM 2

Conservation 

Practices (continued)

With the goal of protecting/restoring 

riparian wildlife habitat, wetland 

habitat, stream habitat, and water 

quality meeting specific enrollment 

criteria as determined by FSA:

• CP8A, Grass Waterways

• CP9, Shallow Water Areas for 

Wildlife

• CP15A, Establishment of 

Permanent Vegetative Cover 

(Contour Grass Strips) 

• CP21, Filter Strips

• CP22, Riparian Buffer

• CP23, Wetland Restoration

• CP29, Marginal Pastureland 

Wildlife Habitat Buffer 

• CP30, Marginal Pastureland 

Wetland Buffer

• CP33, Habitat Buffers for Upland 

Birds

Who is Eligible?

A producer must have owned 

or operated the land for at least 

12 months prior to submitting the 

offer, consistent with National CRP 

policy.

Enrollment and 

Eligibility

Enrollment in CRP through the 

Pennsylvania Ohio River Basin CREP 

is on a continuous basis. To be eligible, 

land must be located in the project 

area. Cropland must meet cropping 

history criteria according to current 

FSA National CRP Directives and be 

physically and legally capable of being 

planted (no planting restrictions due to 

an easement or other legally binding 

instrument) in a normal manner to an 

agricultural commodity.

Eligible land being enrolled as CP1, 

CP2, CP12, and CP4D and located

• within 1,000 feet of a stream, 

must have a weighted average 

Erodibility Index (EI) of 8 or 

greater

• more than 1,000 feet from a 

stream, must have a weighted 

average EI of 12 or greater

Eligible land being enrolled as practice 

CP8A, CP9, CP15A, CP21, CP22, 

CP23, CP29, CP30, and CP33 must 

meet practice requirements provided 

in FSA National CRP Directives and in 

accordance to the CREP agreement.

Certain marginal pastureland is also 

eligible for enrollment provided it is 

suitable for use as an eligible riparian 

buffer, wildlife habitat buffer, or 

wetland buffer conservation practice.

Payments

Under the Pennsylvania Ohio River 

Basin CREP, eligible participants may 

receive the following payments.

• A one-time signing incentive 

payment (SIP) is paid in 

accordance with FSA National 

CRP Directives as follows:

◊ $100 per acre for CP8A, 

CP21, CP22, CP29, CP30, and 

CP33

◊ $150 per acre for CP23

• A one-time practice incentive 

payment (PIP) equal to up to 40 

percent of eligible reimbursable 

costs incurred for installation of 

CP8A, CP9, CP15A, CP21, CP22, 

CP23, CP29, CP30, and CP33 

practices

• An annual rental payment 

consisting of:

◊ A base rental rate, determined 

by the three predominant soils 

of the eligible land offered

◊ A CREP incentive payment as 

follows:

• For HEL practices CP1, 

CP2, CP4D, and CP12, 

the incentive payment is 

based on the EI between 

75 and 225 percent, 

depending on the 

calculated edibility index 

• For practices CP8A, CP9,

CP15A, CP21, CP22, 

CP23, CP29, CP30, and 

CP33, the incentive 

payment is 150 percent

◊ A maintenance payment for 

practices CP21, CP22, CP29, 

and CP30 in accordance with 

FSA National CRP Directives 

• A cost-share payment of up to 

50 percent of the eligible cost to 

install the approved practice

In addition, the Commonwealth 

of Pennsylvania provides eligible 

participants a cost-share payment 

of up to 50 percent of the practice 

installation cost, subject to limits, for

eligible practices.

Enrollment Options

CREP is another option under CRP 

that farmers and ranchers may 

select to enhance their land. Eligible 

producers may still enroll land in CRP 

through general or continuous signup; 

however, the Pennsylvania Ohio 

River Basin CREP provides additional 

benefits not available through general 

and/or continuous signup. Under the 

Pennsylvania Ohio River Basin CREP, 

producers receive higher incentive 

payments and longer contract lengths 

that increase the total amount of 

rental payments received.