Author: Julia C. Klapproth, Faculty Assistant-Natural Resources, Maryland Cooperative Extension; James E. Johnson, Extension Forestry Specialist, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
Publication Number 420-156, Posted January 2002
Table 1. Average Costs for Riparian Forest Buffer Planting and Maintenance in Virginia.
| Materials and Labor | Estimated Average Cost |
| Hardwood seedlings | $80.00 per hundred |
| Labor to plant | $1.00 per tree |
| Shrubs | $20.00 per hundred |
| Shrubs for bank stabilization | $25.00 per hundred |
| Labor to plant | $0.20 each |
| Switchgrass (recommended rate 10 lbs. per acre) | $4.00 per pound |
| Planting costs (conventional or no-till) | $16.00 per acre |
| Fescue (recommended rate 60 lbs. per acre) | $1.50 per pound |
| Ladino clover (recommended rate 3 lbs. per acre) | $4.00 per pound |
| Planting costs (conventional or no-till) | $12.00 per acre |
| Site preparation: | |
| Disking (2 passes) | $34.00 per acre |
| Bush hog | $8.00 per acre |
| Sod control (spot spray with herbicide) | $0.15 per tree |
| Weed control: | |
| Tree shelters (3' shelters with stakes) | $2.80 each |
| Labor to install | $0.30 each |
| Mulch mats | $0.75 each |
| Herbicide treatment1 | $54.00 per acre |
| Streambank Stabilization: | |
| Riprap (including earth movement) | $91.00 per foot |
| Bioengineering (including earth movement to slope back bank, plant materials, and placement of rootwads, brush layers, and live stakes) | $21.50 per linear foot |
| Livestock Exclusion: | |
| Electric fence | $0.85 per foot |
| Installation | $0.40 per foot |
| Charger, clamps, grounding rods | $399.00 per thousand feet |
| Alternate watering facility (gravity-fed concrete trough)2 | $800.00 each |
| Stream crossing for animals2 | $1,150.00 each |
| Maintenance: | |
| Mow between trees | $8.00 per acre |
| Mow grass buffer | $8.00 per acre |
| From: U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service 1997. 1997 CRP practice cost and flat rate payment estimates for Virginia, March 1997. U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service, Richmond, Va.
1Figures for herbicide treatment from Palone, R. S., and A. H. Todd (eds.). 1997. Chesapeake Bay Riparian Handbook: A guide for establishing and maintaining riparian forest buffers. U.S.D.A. Forest Service NA-TP-02-97. 2Figures for watering facility and stream crossing from Faulkner, D. L. 1998. The economics of Conservation Reserve Enhancement program. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Richmond, Va. |
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