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SACRAMENTO -- With
grants from the California Department of
Conservation and the USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service, the
Solano Land Trust has permanently
shielded from development 283 acres of
outstanding farmland near Winters.
“We’re very pleased
to help ensure that the Putah Creek
Ranch will always remain in agricultural
use,” said California Secretary for
Resources Mike Chrisman, himself a
rancher. “As the state’s population
continues to grow, it becomes
increasingly important to preserve our
top-quality farmland.”
Putah Creek Ranch is
located along a 1.2-mile frontage of the
south bank of Putah Creek between
Winters and Davis, in an area designated
by the Solano Land Trust as a
high-priority preservation area. Organic
walnut orchards, grape rootstock and
field crops such as sunflowers occupy
the acreage. The ranch also is used as a
demonstration farm for innovative
practices, such as riparian plant
restoration and a “tailwater” pond that
prevents excessive silt and nutrients
from entering the creek.
“We teach primarily
high school students about sustainable
agriculture practices,” ranch owner
Craig McNamara said. “They are our
future community leaders, and most of
them have very little introduction into
the process of how food gets on the
table, let alone sustainable practices.
We help them fill their educational
toolbox with environmentally sound
ideas.
“As we looked at our
piece of land, we realized that while we
could probably sell several estate
properties for a million dollars each,
it was important to keep it in
agricultural production as well as
having the educational program. That’s
why we decided to pursue an agricultural
conservation easement.”
Both the state and
federal government contributed $425,000
toward the purchase of the easement.
The state money came
from the California Farmland Conservancy
Program (CFCP). Administered by the
Department of Conservation’s Division of
Land Resource Protection, the CFCP is
designed to ensure that the state's most
valuable farmland will not be developed.
Through the program, local governments
and non-profit organizations can receive
grants to purchase development rights
from willing landowners, thus creating
permanent conservation easements. To
date, the CFCP has provided more than
$40 million in grant funding for more
than 90 agricultural easements
comprising over 26,000 acres of
productive farmland.
The federal funding
came from the USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Farm and
Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP).
The FRPP provides matching funds to help
purchase development rights to keep
productive farm and ranchland in
agriculture. Working through existing
programs, NRCS partners with state,
tribal, or local governments and
non-governmental organizations to
acquire conservation easements or other
interests in land from landowners. NRCS
provides up to 50 percent of the fair
market easement value of the
conservation easement.
“Protecting
agricultural land by helping landowners
stop the conversion of land to
non-agricultural uses helps keep the
landscape healthy, wildlife habitat
available, and our economy viable,” said
Ed Burton, Acting NRCS State
Conservationist in California. “The Farm
and Ranch Lands Protection Program helps
safeguard prime farmland, protecting our
ability to produce food and fiber.”
Founded in 1986, the
non-profit Solano Land Trust (www.solanolandtrust.org)
seeks to preserve and protect farmlands
and open spaces throughout Solano
County. From its Fairfield office, the
SLT owns more than 10,300 acres of
farmlands, ranchlands, wetlands, and
open spaces with a value in excess of
$15.4 million. Almost all of these lands
are in agricultural production. The
trust also holds easements on eleven
properties totaling 5,000 acres and
valued in excess of $5.8 million.
“Solano Land Trust's
mission includes protection of both
agricultural lands and natural resources
such as wetlands, so we are particularly
pleased to create a conservation
easement that protects both prime
farmland and a significant riparian
corridor, Putah Creek,” Solano Land
Trust President Sean Quinn said. “This
agricultural conservation easement is
also a logical extension of the
sustainable farming practices that Craig
and Julie McNamara have promoted for
years on their farm through the Center
for Land-Based Learning. Craig is a
remarkable leader in the agricultural
community and we're proud to work with
him on this project.”
California's
agricultural production totaled nearly
$33 billion in 2003, by far the most in
the nation. However, land is being
urbanized throughout the state at an
ever-increasing rate. According to the
most recent Farmland Conversion Report,
91,000 acres – 27 percent of it
irrigated farmland – were urbanized
between 1998 and 2000.
“Through our grants
program, we’re helping the state balance
the needs of a growing population with
those of the traditional agricultural
economy,” said Chuck Tyson, who manages
the California Farmland Conservancy
Program.
CFCP funds remain for
new grant proposals. Landowners and
trusts are encouraged to contact the
Department of Conservation/Division
of Land Resource Protection for
information on the program and potential
grant funding.
DOC also offers
programs -- the Williamson Act and
Farmland Security Zones -- that provide
financial incentives to keep land in
agricultural use for periods of 10 and
20 years.
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