Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 19, 1998
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke, Glickman OK $250 million to protect streams, save salmon

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman today announced a $250 million federal-state conservation partnership to protect streams on agricultural lands that are home to endangered species of salmon.

The agreement signed today creates the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). When fully implemented, the program could restore up to 100,000 acres of environmentally sensitive agricultural land along 3,000 miles of streams throughout the state.

Under CREP, agricultural landowners and producers are eligible to enter into 10- to 15-year contracts to plant and maintain trees on environmentally sensitive land next to streams and rivers. This will result in riparian buffers ranging up to 150 feet, protecting water quality and improving salmon habitat. In return, landowners will receive cost-share assistance and annual rental payments.

"This agreement signals Washington state's commitment to provide incentives to private landowners to do the right thing for salmon," Locke said. "The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program provides a foundation for the agriculture component of the state's salmon recovery strategy."

The USDA will fund about 80 percent of the program's expected $250 million cost with the rest of the funds coming from Washington state and private landowners. Washington state is expected to commit nearly $25 million in matching funds over the next four years, along with other related salmon recovery efforts.

"This partnership is good for Washington streams and Washington salmon—and it is good for America's environment," Glickman said.

"The strength of the CREP program is the partnership that it encourages involving the federal government, state government, and private landowners to protect critical wildlife habitat," said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. "These voluntary partnerships in Washington state will make a real difference in our efforts to restore salmon runs."

"CREP provides us a flexible tool that can adapt to the diverse needs of individual landowners while making a solid contribution toward salmon recovery. Once fully implemented, the Washington state program will enroll 100,000 acres and protect nearly 3,000 miles of streams and rivers. This will make a real difference and is a significant step forward in our state's recovery effort," said U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks.

"Salmon recovery efforts continue to be a top priority for both the Legislature and the governor," said state Sen. Dan Swecker. "I'm pleased we were able to work together to leverage state funding and secure such a generous commitment from the federal government."

"I believe that CREP will assist many farmers to create buffers around streams and rivers in the same voluntary and incentive-based way that has solved problems like erosion in the past," said Steve Appel, president of the Washington Farm Bureau. Appel is a wheat and barley farmer from Dusty, Wash.

"We offer our enthusiastic support and view CREP as an integral part of salmon recovery for our state. This program offers a substantial measure of assistance for dedicated, salt-of-the-earth, farm families," said Alex McGregor, a landowner and executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

Agricultural lands west of the Cascades will benefit the most from the new program. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) created through the 1985 Farm Bill benefited land mostly east of the Cascades because it was a dry land crop program and most participants were wheat growers. The new enhancement program allows the state to focus on critical riparian areas necessary for salmon recovery while bringing an additional sector of the agriculture industry, including livestock, into the conservation program.

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