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Jackson County Conservation District |
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Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw, Jackson & Hillsdale County Conservation Districts
2006 By: Lauren Lindemann, CREP Technician CREP Annual Report
River Raisin Watershed Acreage Report on approved acreage for 2006 Fiscal Year: · Lenawee County – 1,440.5 acres · Washtenaw County – 46.1 acres · Monroe County – 255.9 acres
Have you noticed CREP in the River Raisin Watershed? Over the past year, while you drove around the county, you should have noticed at least the filter strips. For 2006, landowners and farmers placed over 700 acres of filter strips into CREP. Even though I am the technician that helped several people put the filter strips in, I am still amazed at how a field can look cleaner and smoother when a filter strip is placed along an open ditch or creek. If you are someone who farms on the edge of a water source, please consider a filter strip. If you are not sure what a filter strip is, it is a vegetative (grasses and forbs) strip used to decrease erosion, control sediment loss and filter chemical run-off and infiltration into ground and surface water areas. The strips are planted next to streams, rivers and drainage ditches where water could possibly exit the field.
50’ Filter Strip, Introduced Grasses
The main CREP event for 2006 was the River Raisin Watershed CREP Grassroots Conservation Day on August 9th. During this event farmers and landowners learned more about CREP as a program, as well as what it can do for soil, water and wildlife issues. The event also highlighted a few sessions on grass mixes and the native no-till drill. The field event was held at the Lenawee Intermediate Agriculture Center near Tipton, Michigan.
CREP Tour, Established CREP CP2 Field
There are also practices under CREP that solve other resource concerns. The list of practices available in CREP is listed below: CP1, Introduced Grasses and Legumes on highly erodible land within 1,000 feet of water CP2, Native Grasses and Legumes on highly erodible land within 1,000 feet of water CP5, Field Windbreak CP21, Filter Strip CP22, Riparian Forest Buffer CP23, Wetland Restoration in a Flood Plain CP23A, Wetland Restoration in a Non-Flood Plain CP26, Sediment Retention Control Structure
Right now CREP is a continuous enrollment program; the closing period will be set at a later date. Any interested person should contact Lauren Lindemann for more information on CREP at 517-263-7400 ext. 119.
** CREP signs are still available for anyone who is a CREP participant.
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