Illinois Budget Brings Mixed Bag for State Conservation

Passage of Illinois’ state budget brought mixed results for state conservation programs.

Some state cost-sharing programs, such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts, will receive funding under the recently-approved "stop-gap" agreement.

“It’s not a full budget but at least it’s better than them limping along as they were before,” said State Conservationist Ivan Dozier.

But other programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), weren't funded. CREP is a federal, state and local partnership designed to retire frequently flooded and environmentally sensitive cropland to achieve restoration and long-term protection.