California Receives $2.4 Million for Farmland Protection

DAVIS, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ — “This program helps communities preserve farm and ranch lands, wildlife habitat and cultural resources,” said State Conservationist Ed Burton of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This is an excellent way to keep prime farmland in agriculture and, at the same time, keep farming and ranching communities thriving by relieving development pressures.”

This week California received $2,407,474 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue the important work of farmland protection. The money is part of $69 million allocated nationally through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

From 1996 to 2006, NRCS in California provided $12 million to support the purchase of, and provide permanent protection for 9,307 acres of agricultural land on 30 farms and ranches across the State. “These FRPP funds were leveraged with $18 million for a total of $30 million through partnerships with those who share our commitment to protecting farm and ranchland,” said Burton. “We have had positive experiences working with California’s Department of Conservation as well as numerous private trusts and conservancies. Together we get a lot more done than any of us could have individually.”

FRPP protects productive agricultural land by purchasing conservation easements to limit conversion of farm and ranch lands to non-agricultural uses. NRCS in California partners with local, state or tribal, governments and non-government organizations to acquire conservation easements on privately owned land. NRCS provides up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement in this voluntary program. State, tribal and local entities can match that amount, and they can include landowner donations in their match.

Additional information on FRPP can be found on the NRCS California Web Site at: http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp.html .

-NRCS-

Natural Resources Conservation Service

CONTACT: Anita Brown, +1-530-792-5644, or Alan Forkey, +1-530-792-5653

Web site: http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/