NEWS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Office of Communications News Room 460-A
Washington, DC 20250-1300
Internet: News @usda.gov   Phone: 202-720-9035
World Wide Web Home Page: http://www.usda.gov
                                                
                                         Release No. 0263.01
                                                
                                  Dann Stuart (202) 690-0474
                                     dan_stuart@wdc.usda.gov

USDA CONSERVATION PROGRAM TO PROTECT NEW YORK DRINKING WATER

      WASHINGTON, December 14, 2001 - Agriculture Secretary
Ann M.  Veneman today announced that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture is partnering with the city of Syracuse, N.Y.,
to safeguard the city's drinking water through a $900,000
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.

      The program's focus is the Skaneateles Lake, one of
the 11 Finger Lakes of central New York and the source of
unfiltered drinking water for the 240,000 residents of
Syracuse.

      "This conservation program will preserve the lake's
purity, benefiting local residents, tourists and the farming
community," said Veneman.

      The Syracuse CREP will pay farmers to remove from
agricultural production up to 1,000 acres of cropland or
marginal pastureland that feed the lake.  The program will
reimburse producers for installing and restoring riparian
buffers that keep sediment, nutrients and pollutants from
entering the lake.  The buffers will protect water quality
and provide wildlife habitat for a wide array of wildlife
species, like trout and pheasant.  Through these and other
efforts the city is taking, Syracuse hopes to be able to
continue to comply with safe drinking water standards while
avoiding building a costly filtration system.

      The total cost of the program is expected to reach
$900,000 over 15 years.  Of that amount, $650,000 will come
from USDA and $250,000 from the city of Syracuse.

      CREP uses state and federal resources to help solve
conservation problems.  The program combines an existing
USDA program, the Conservation Reserve Program, with state
programs to meet specific state and national environmental
objectives.  CREP provides for voluntary agreements with
farmers to convert cropland to native grasses, trees, and
other vegetation in return for rental payments and other
incentives.

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