COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new H2Ohio water quality incentive program (WQIP) has the potential to pay up to a $2,000 an acre one-time incentive for farmers, tenants, or landowners. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) will accept applications for this program from Dec. 1 through Jan.29.

The new incentive program is partnering with the Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), said John Kaiser, ODNR Ohio Div. of Wildlife Acting Private Lands Administrator. CREP is a USDA conservation program that offers farmers and landowners financial rewards for taking cropland out of production and establishing conservation practices. 

“Landowners can apply for this program and then later apply for Lake Erie CREP because some folks might be of the mindset that they might not want to get into CREP unless they get this incentive payment. If they get accepted into the H2Ohio incentive program, and they decide to move forward with the project, they do have to sign up for Lake Erie CREP.”

This new H2Ohio program offers the one-time $2,000 an acre incentive for farmers and landowners who sign up for either new wetlands or forested riparian buffers (buffer strips with trees), Kaiser said. Wetlands and riparian buffers act as filters to reduce nutrient loading into waterways and help reduce flooding. 

“These two practices are some of the best practices for reducing nutrients, and they are the most likely to be reenrolled,” Kaiser said. “From an agricultural perspective, grass filter strips are good. They’re a good conservation practice, but they can be easily converted back into farmland at the end of the contract.”

At the end of the application period, applications will be scored and selected based on the criteria for the best projects to improve water quality. Readers can find those criteria in the link below. 

“We’ll notify those folks,” Kaiser said. “Once that project is 100 percent complete, we make payment.”

The new incentive program is one of several H2Ohio efforts currently underway by ODNR including the Forder Bridge Project in Paulding County, the Fruth Wetland Nature Preserve in Seneca County, the St. Joseph Confluence Reconnection in Williams County, the Van Order Wetland and Forest Restoration in Henry County, and the new wetland area east of the Andreoff Wildlife Area in Wyandot County.

H2Ohio is Governor DeWine’s initiative to ensure safe and clean water. It is a comprehensive, data-driven approach to improving water quality over the long term, Kaiser said. H2Ohio focuses on encouraging agricultural best management practices, restoring and enhancing wetlands, and replacing home septic systems to reduce nutrients that contribute to harmful algal blooms. 

Visit http://h2.ohio.gov/new-h2ohio-incentive-program-helps-improve-water-quality/ for more information, for qualifying criteria, and information on an ODA representative in your area.