OUTDOOR CORNER: CONSERVATION BUFFERS HELP PROTECT WATER

Landowners and society are reaping benefits with conservation programs that help establish conservation buffers that will improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat.

One of these programs is the Conservation Reserve program through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

What are conservation buffers? This is the first item that we need to discuss.

Conservation buffers are 25- to 150-foot wide strips of grass or trees adjacent to any water body lake, ponds, wetlands, streams or rivers. Buffer strips slow water runoff, trap sediment and pollutants, reduce stream bank erosion, and enhances water infiltration in the buffer itself.

Buffers will trap fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria, pathogens and heavy metals, minimizing the chances of these potential pollutants reaching surface water and ground water sources. They also protect livestock from harsh weather and offer habitat for wildlife. Riparian (streamside) buffers, filter strips and grassed waterways are examples of conservation buffers.

The USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is helping landowners enhance and maintain this natural filter by providing cost-share assistance and annual rental payments for landowners willing to retire these narrow areas from cropland production or establish tees on qualifying pasture land.

Because conservation buffers have a high environmental benefit, there is a continuous enrollment period with automatic acceptance and a 20 percent bonus for these types of practices. The rental payment is based on the productivity of the soil and average cash rental rate for comparable land in the county. Rental payment are usually between $60 and $120 per acre with contracts running for 10 to 15 years in length.

To be eligible for CRP, you must have owned the land for at least one year. Cropland is eligible if it was planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity in 2 of the last 5 crop years. The land does not have to be highly erodible. Marginal pasture land is any land adjacent to streams that is in grass and is suitable to be planted to trees.

The CRP program will pay for 50 percent of the cost for site preparation, temporary cover until permanent cover is established, grading or shaping, seeds, trees or shrubs, plastic mulch, and fencing. Additional cost share is available to provide an alternative watering source for livestock if the watering source was a stream.

For more information on conservation buffers or the Conservation Reserve Program, contact your local USDA office or the Missouri Department of Conservation at 290-5730.

Brad Pobst is an aquatic services biologist for Missouri Department of Conservation.