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Governor JB Pritzker Illinois.gov Contact IDNR DNR A to Z

Goal 1 - How can CREP achieve this goal?

​CREP works with landowners and other State agencies to implement beneficial practices for the fields and their surrounding streams. This is achieved through landowner outreach, site visits, and participation in various conservation programs. 

Practices include the implementation of riparian buffer zones, filter strips, wetlands, and hardwood tree plantings which provide water-quality benefits through reducing flow velocities (vegetation provides greater resistance to water flow) and also causing deposition of some of the suspended particulates. Infiltration would also occur in these practices, reducing the outflow of water and other contaminants. 

Together, reduced flow velocity and increased infiltration can offer water quality improvement benefits. These practices promote the uptake of nutrients, denitrification, and assimilation/transformation on the surface of soil, vegetation, and debris.  Another mechanism by which buffers provide water quality improvement is through reduced erosion due to dense, perennial vegetation providing greater resistance to erosion.