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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Conservation Easements

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, is the Federal Government’s single largest environmental improvement program on private lands. The CRP helps safeguard acres of American topsoil from erosion, improving air quality, increasing wildlife habitat and protecting ground and surface water by reducing water runoff and sedimentation.

The program uses financial incentives to encourage farmers and ranchers to voluntarily establish valuable conservation practices. Under CRP contracts, farmers are compensated for planting permanent covers of grass and trees on land subject to erosion, where vegetation can improve water quality, or to provide food and habitat for wildlife.

Tree plantings offer a broad range of conservation benefits. They help cleanse runoff water of silt and pollutants, they replenish water tables, conserve and stabilize soil, reduce flood damage, and enhance wildlife habitat. Trees prevent the erosion of stream banks, increase oxygen levels, reduce so-called greenhouse gases, clean pollutants from the air, and provide shade and buffers against high winds. And they provide food and shelter to countless forms of wildlife.

Return to listing of stewardship programs