AUTHORS: Sarah Molinaro, Illinois Natural History Survey at University of Illinois; Kristen Ragusa, Illinois Natural History Survey at University of Illinois; William Nixon, Illinois Natural History Survey at University of Illinois; Yong Cao, Illinois Natural History Survey at University of Illinois
ABSTRACT: The Illinois Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a partnership between the US Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA), Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and the county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) that aims to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff, improve water quality, and create and enhance critical habitat for fish and wildlife populations on private lands in the Illinois River and Kaskaskia River basins. In exchange for voluntarily removing frequently flooded and environmentally sensitive cropland from production, landowners receive compensation to implement conservation practices that support the goals of CREP. Since CREP was established in the Illinois River (1998) and Kaskaskia River (2010) basins, 1,324 parcels totaling 90,000 acres have been enrolled into conservation practices. Biennially, the CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring Project conducts wadeable stream surveys at fixed stream sites to monitor progress towards CREP’s aquatic life goal and evaluate how CREP affects stream habitat, fish communities, and benthic macroinvertebrate communities. In this talk, I will present a summary of conservation practices implemented by CREP and initial CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring Project results. I will also discuss next steps for the CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring Project and lessons learned working with private landowners.
