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Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
Given the large amount of streamside property contained within the farm enrollment of this property in CREP seemed like a good fit. CREP is a voluntary land retirement program that helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat, and safeguard ground and surface water.
The program is a partnership among producers; tribal, state, and federal governments; and, in some cases, private groups. CREP is an offshoot of the country's largest private-lands environmental improvement program -- the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
CREP addresses high-priority conservation issues of both local and national significance, such as impacts to water supplies, loss of critical habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species, soil erosion, and reduced habitat for anadramous fish populations.
CREP contracts require a 10- to 15-year commitment to keep lands out of agricultural production. CREP provides payments to participants who offer eligible land. A federal annual rental rate, including an FSA state committee-determined maintenance incentive payment, is offered, plus cost-share of up to 50 percent of the eligible costs to install the practice. Further, the program generally offers a sign-up incentive for participants to install specific practices that restore the riparian area.
FSA uses CRP funding to pay a percentage of the program's cost, while state, tribal governments, or other non-federal sources provide the balance of the funds. States and private groups involved in the effort may also provide technical support and other in-kind services. OWEB provides 25% of the costs of the CREP on properties enrolled in the program.
land protected
The Greenbelt Land Trust protects land by both easement and purchase. Here are brief descriptions of parcels protect by each method.
Protected by Easement
GLT currently holds a dozen easements on a variety of lands including rare upland and wetland prairie habitat, riparian forests, creek and river side habitats, oak woodland and savanna habitats, mixed conifer forests and farm land. Most of these properties remain in private ownership, although several are natural areas owned by the City of Corvallis and Benton County and protected for the community. Conservation easements held by the Greenbelt Land Trust include:
Thomas Paine Farm Conservation Easement
The Greenbelt Land Trust purchased a conservation easement on 145 acres of a 183 acre farm located in Kings Valley to protect the riparian areas along the Luckiamute River and Price Creek. Both of these streams provide important habitat for steelhead and Pacific lamprey. The property contains about 1.5 miles of stream frontage along the Luckiamute River – listed as critical habitat for steelhead – and a half-mile of frontage along Price Creek. A portion of the property remains in agricultural production.
This easement is unique in that it combines two different protection mechanisms, a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) contract with a permanent conservation easement. This was the first time both programs were used in Oregon.
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Fitton Green Natural Area
The Fitton Green Natural Area is a 308 acre property owned and managed by Benton County. Greenbelt holds a conservation easement on a 140-acre parcel purchased by the Greenbelt as an addition to Fitton Green. Three forest types are found on this property: conifer and hardwood, oak, and riparian. The Greenbelt assisted with the preparation of a management plan for the site and helps with trail maintenance. The trail system at the property is named for Allen Throop a former board president of the Greenbelt. Benton County is managing the site primarily for dispersed recreation such as hiking, biking, and horseback riding.
Protection by Purchase
Owens Farm
In 2002, Owens Farm, an area of agricultural fields, hardwood forests, wetlands and wooded riparian corridors located just north of Corvallis, was made available for sale. This strategically located and beautiful property was the gateway to Corvallis area from the north and a prominent part of the viewscape. The Greenbelt Land Trust, the City of Corvallis and Samaritan Health Services responded quickly, partnering to acquire the 310-acre farm. The farm was subsequently split into three ownerships with Greenbelt Land Trust acquiring the northern 95 acres. The bulk of the funding for purchase of our portion of Owens Farm was provided by private donations from the community. In 2002, the Greenbelt Land Trust secured funding from the the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to complete purchase of the site. OWEB was granted a permanent conservation easement for the protection and enhancement of natural habitats and educational opportunities on the site.
The importance of this purchase is hard to overstate. Rare plant and wildlife species are found in less disturbed parts of the site, and Owens Farm functions as a critical link in the Jackson-Frazier watershed, offering wildlife and plant habitat, floodplain, and natural area values. It also offers a potential connection to other habitats and open space areas in the watershed including Chip Ross Park, Jackson Frazier Wetland and Oregon State University’s McDonald Research Forest.Lupine Meadows
In 2006 the Greenbelt Land Trust permanently protected the 58-acre Lupine Meadows site in Philomath using funds from the USFWS North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). OWEB also provided funds to secure purchase of the property. Generous contributions from our donors and the landowner established a permanent endowment fund for the site.. A bargain sale by the owners of the property helped make protection of this site possible..
Lupine Meadows is a unique property containing wetland and upland prairies, two of the rarest habitat types in the Willamette Valley. The property supports the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, and the threatened Kincaid’s lupine and Nelson’s checkermallow. Oregon Vesper sparrows, listed in Oregon as a bird species of concern, have also been seen on the site. Lupine Meadows is located within the Newton Creek watershed and serves as an important connection to other conserved properties such as Bald Hill and Fitton Green. The complex wetland system on the site helps to store winter runoff and reduce flooding of downstream properties along Newton Creek.