CREP is a cost share program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides annual rental payments to farmers who convert highly erodible cropland or other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover such as native grasses or trees. The overall goal of CREP is to reduce soil erosion, protect the ability to produce food and fiber, reduce sedimentation in streams and lakes, improve water quality, establish wildlife habitat and enhance forest and wetland resources.

Since 2005, the LCCD has worked in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Lamoille County producers to coordinate the ordering and planting of over 5,000 stems on over 20 acres of land in the Lamoille and Winooski Watersheds.