The program funds restoration of wetlands up to 40 acres, forested riparian buffers up to 300 feet wide and cropland filter strips up to 100 feet wide. Forested riparian buffers, such as this one being established, reduce nutrient runoff and erosion. A 100-foot wide strip of forest and grass can reduce sediment by 97 percent, nitrogen by 80 percent and phosphorus by 77 percent. The Southern Rivers CREP, in particular, provides for critical habitat for the bobwhite quail, whose population declined 62 percent between 1970 and 1991. Wetland restoration is also addressed in this innovative program.
Wetlands provide wildlife habitat and reduce erosion by slowing and storing runoff.
This enables absorption of excess nutrients. Another CREP goal is to establish 8,000 acres of perpetual conservation or open space easement statewide. The bay enhancement program targets 6,000 acres, and the Southern Rivers program targets 2,000. The state will reimburse up to 25 percent of the approved installation cost of a conservation practice through Virginia's Agricultural BMP Cost-Share Program . CREP rental payments come from federal and state funding sources.