Establishing conservation easements on forested riparian buffers: Opportunities for long-term streamside protection

Forest riparian buffers are an important means of conserving land. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) offers financial incentives to landowners to install forested riparian buffers under 10-15 year contracts. This study explores whether Pennsylvania CREP participants who had established a riparian buffer would also place it under a permanent conservation easement. A mail questionnaire was developed and administered to 685 CREP participants. It was found that the majority of the respondents are likely to leave their buffer intact when the CREP contract expires, but are hesitant to agree to conservation easements. Property rights, education and finances are among the key issues affecting acceptance of conservation easements.