Now Accepting Applications for New Round of CREP Mini-grants |
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PACD is now accepting mini-grant applications from conservation districts for up to $3,000 to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the work of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.
Application due date: November 12, 2021
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Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS. |
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Put Insights from Research to Work on Your Buffer |
Is your buffer challenged by rodents, deer, or competing vegetation? Common threats include:
· gnawing by rodents – typically meadow voles (see photo)
· deer browse, particularly on shrubs in short shelters or without shelters
· competition from aggressive plants like reed canary grass and multiflora rose
Stroud Water Research Center has been researching how to do buffers better since 1995. Early research showed that 3’ diameter herbicide spots around tree shelters can increase tree survival by 4x and increase growth by 2x compared to no herbicide spots. Voles avoid going out in the open areas created by herbicides. In 2013, Stroud began testing alternatives to herbicide for protecting trees from rodents. There’s now clear evidence that gravel mulch protects trees from voles as well as herbicide spots and at a lower cost. Stroud Center tested a 2” deep layer of gravel around each tree shelter. The gravel was “2A Modified” – a reference to stone mixture of fine particles up to 3/4” size, not clean stone, which does not knit together well. See the graphs below. And don’t forget that mowing to remove cover and increase predation is a good tool for reducing vole populations and the damage they do to plantings.
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Rootless trees (common vole damage) |
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Survival of trees using 36” herbicide spot (left) vs. 20” stone vs. 12” stone: There’s no significant differences in survival through 3 years of testing (or growth – not shown). |
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For shrubs that are being browsed by deer, there are several solutions. Installing 4’ tall, welded wire fence around groups of shrubs works well (see photo). Deer have a behavioral aversion to going into small, enclosed areas, even though they could easily jump the low fence. Individual cages made of welded wire work well for shrubs not planted in clusters. |
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Competing vegetation can hinder or kill buffer plantings. Stroud Center’s trials in reed canary grass show that the basic maintenance regimen of herbicide spots (or stone mulch) with 2-3x mowing per year for four years provides good buffer growth and survival. In areas overgrown with a solid stand of multiflora rose, removing the rose, sowing pasture grass, and then using the basic regimen of herbicide spots with 2-3x mowing per year was highly effective in establishing trees.
Please be aware that buffers installed with programs such as CREP often have specific maintenance expectations. Your technical assistance provider who helped install your buffer can advise you on how to have success with your buffer and be sure your actions are consistent with any program guidelines.
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Conservation Districts Complete Buffer Projects |
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Armstrong County
Armstrong Conservation District planted a total of 3.2 acres of multi-functional riparian forest buffer along two branches of Big Run, a tributary to the Allegheny River. The total cost of the project was $31,603.25.
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Montgomery County
Montgomery County Conservation District planted a total of 0.75 acres of multi-functional riparian forest buffer at the Upper Perkiomen Valley YMCA in Montgomery County. The buffer project cost $10,131.39.
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Berks County
Berks County Conservation District planted a total of 1.25 acres of multi-functional riparian forest buffer along the Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County. The total cost of the buffer was $12,052.45.
The buffer project was part of the Tulpehocken Creek Restoration; a collaborative between Berks County Conservation District, PennDOT, AECOM, PA Fish & Boat Commission, and PACD.
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Lancaster County
Lancaster County Conservation District completed a 20 acre multi-functional riparian forest buffer project on a dairy farm in Lancaster County. The total cost of the buffer was $66,368.00.
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Westmoreland County
Westmoreland Conservation District planted 5.86 acres of multi-functional riparian forest buffer along Stony Run and its tributaries in Westmoreland County. The project cost $12,157.28.
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Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. |
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Landowner Guide to Buffer Success |
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CREP partners updated the “Landowner Guide to Buffer Success” that was last published in 2007. The guide features key tasks by season, tips to improve outcomes, example photos, summaries of how riparian forest buffers help streams, and links to resources. Guides are still available. |
Contact Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org to request copies and make arrangements for pick-up. |
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Thank you to all our CREP partners who contributed to the Landowner Guide to Buffer Success! |
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Are You a Member of the CREP Partners Listserve? |
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Members of the CREP Partners Listserve already know that it’s a convenient way to share and receive program information, but did you know it’s also an email discussion group? Listserve members can ask questions, seek opinions, and discuss current issues related to the program through the list. Interested partners can email Molly Burns at mburns@pacd.org to join. |
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Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.
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