Greening the Green River

By Regina Durkan/Farm to Fork

Kentucky’s most extensive conservation program can’t be found in a park or wildlife area. It’s scattered across 100,000 acres of farmland.

The state is taking part in the national Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, known as CREP. The U.S. Farm Service Agency’s initiative seeks to retire environmentally sensitive agricultural land in order to restore wildlife and protect water sources. States may enroll up to 100,000 acres and have to contribute 20% of the funding towards the program. According to the Farm Service Agency’s February 2010 Monthly Summary, there are 1,180,000 acres enrolled in CREP nationwide at an average payment per year of $129 an acre.

The Barren River, a tributary of the Green River, runs through Bowling Green, Ky. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)

“As we try to grow more commodity crops and slather them in toxic fertilizers and pesticides, those buffer lands become even more critical in protecting public health and fresh and clean sources of water,” said Don Carr of the Environmental Working Group, an environmental research organization based in Washington D.C.

Concern for water cleanliness and wildlife protection became a catalyst for Kentucky’s program, which focuses on protecting the Green River at a price tag of $110 million. The 300-mile long river feeds through the Mammoth Cave National Park and provides a home for several endangered species such as Kentucky Cave Shrimp and an assortment of mussels as well as unique flora and fauna. The Green River’s watershed is larger than most rivers, and the agricultural runoff from farms within the vicinity has been found in the world’s largest cave system.

Farmers have been quick to join. In seven years, Green River CREP has accepted enough contracts in the specified counties to meet its goal of 100,000 acres. Organizers originally thought it would take 10 years to sign up enough land.

According to the program’s Web site, it is the largest conservation program in the history of Kentucky.

Joe O'Daniel gave a tour of his farm on Feb. 19. Behind him is land enrolled in the Green River CREP program. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)

Joe O’Daniel, who owns O’Daniel Farms in Warren County, has 74 acres in the CREP program, grossing $204 per acre. O’Daniel previously raised cattle on the land he has under contract. Now the land is covered in swarm of tall, native grass. O’Daniel has noticed an increase of rabbits and quail on his land. Though he admits he’d like to have seen more wildlife by now, O’Daniel believes that time is essential for this restoration effort, and he anticipates more wildlife will appear in the future.

He said that the money he made farming the land couldn’t match what CREP is now paying for his acreage in the program. If he transferred the land to high-intensity vegetable production he could turn out a greater profit, but securing the environment is important to him.

“I think it’s a great thing,” O’Daniel said about the Green River CREP. “We need to take care of our planet because we only have one shot at it.”

According to the 2009 Green River CREP Annual Program Accomplishment Report, one of the evaluation methods to determine the success of the program is monitoring the number of prairie voles. The evaluators have determined that this small mammal has a high survivability rate on land enrolled in the CREP program. Many of the other monitoring experiments ranging from measuring water quality improvement to determining wildlife numbers are still in progress.

Land along the Barren River is used as a buffer zone to protect the water source. (Sam Oldenburg/Farm to Fork)

Even though the success of the program is still being determined, Green River CREP is already award-winning. It won the Two Chiefs’ Partnership Award from Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Forest Service in 2007.

Steve Coleman, the director of the Kentucky Division of Conservation, considers Kentucky to have one of the best CREP programs in the nation. Contributions come from not only state and federal funding but also locally.

“That’s the nice thing about agriculture,” Coleman said. “It can not only be productive but also be environmentally sound in its practices to protect both land, air, and water and likewise provide habitats – all of which are benefits to us citizens here in Kentucky.”