The Walla Walla Conservation District has been working with private landowners in the Lower Touchet River drainage to restore and protect riparian habitat by working with private landowners to enroll riparian habitat into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The CREP program helps to offset the costs related to landowners setting aside and restoring riparian lands for the purpose of improving wildlife habitat and water quality. Through this program the conservation districts have been able to restore and temporarily protect a large proportion of stream miles in sensitive salmon bearing streams.
The primary goals of the program are to limit agricultural activities with a prescribe riparian buffer where riparian forests are planted and protected for up to 5 years when the maintenance becomes the responsibility of the landowner. Restored areas are planted with a combination of woody trees and shrubs native to the region where they are being planted.
This project will be and ongoing project as landowners change and new individuals enroll or past participants reenroll in the program. Only new enrollees adding new lands or increasing acres will be added to the overall recovery goal for CREP. To date, there are 37 contracts in effect on 997.8 acres. This accounts for treating 46.6 miles of streambank with 432,322 native trees and shrubs.