Department of Conservation Celebrates National Agriculture Day by Protecting Farmland.

News Editors/Environment & Agriculture Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2001

Williamson Act Expansion Highlights Achievements

of DOC's Division of Land Resource Protection

The enrollment of Merced, Imperial, Sutter and Mono counties into the Williamson Act this year added about 369,000 acres into the state's oldest agricultural land preservation program, the Department of Conservation announced in saluting the contributions of California's farmers and ranchers on National Agriculture Day.

National Agriculture Day was started in 1973 by the Agriculture Council of America (www.agday.org) and is celebrated on the first day of spring each year (Tuesday).

"Agriculture may not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think about California, but it's a $27 billion industry and the work done by our farmers and ranchers is critical to the state, the nation and the world," Department of Conservation Director Darryl Young noted. "We're working to ensure that the state can meet the needs of a growing population while at the same time keeping some of the world's best farmland in production."

Merced, Imperial, Sutter and Mono are the first new counties to enter the Williamson Act program since 1977. Only six of the state's 58 counties do not participate, and only one of those, Yuba, has significant agricultural production.

The Williamson Act, administered by DOC's Division of Land Resource Protection, was enacted in 1965 to balance the pressures of urban growth on agricultural land by providing a tax incentive for farmers and ranchers to remain in agriculture. More than 16 million of California's 30 million acres of agricultural and open-space land is enrolled in Williamson Act contracts.

"Thanks to the Williamson Act, the loss of farmland through ill-conceived and leapfrog development has been discouraged throughout the state," said Erik Vink, head of the DOC's Division of Land Resource Protection. "Much of the state's best farmland remains in the path of development, so there is more work to do."

DOC's Division of Land Resource Protection manages a number of programs designed to promote the stewardship of farmland and open-space land in California. Among the notable achievements of these programs in the last year:

      -- The Farmland Security Zone (FSZ) program experienced impressive
    growth. FSZs are a modified version of a Williamson Act contract
    in which a landowner commits to keeping his or her land in
    agricultural use for 20 rather than 10 years in exchange for
    additional tax benefits. FSZ program participation in 1998 was
    210,079 acres in three counties; currently 17 counties participate
    and 440,216 acres of land are enrolled.

      -- The California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) awarded 11
    grants totaling $5.9 million to protect nearly 5000 acres of
    farmland. Those grants leveraged a total of $4.9 million in
    matching funds and donations from landowners, local, federal and
    private sources. CFCP easements currently in progress will protect
    nearly 12,000 acres.

      -- The Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program completed its
    biennial study of land use in the state through the year 1998.
    Information in the report is valuable for providing a statewide
    perspective on land conversion. Local governments use it to
    understand and plan land use in their communities.

      The rate of urbanization was up 25 percent from the previous
    two-year survey period. Almost 70,000 acres were urbanized from
    1996 to 1998. More than 43,000 acres of that -- an area about the
    size of Modesto -- was developed on agricultural land.

      -- The Division of Land Resource Protection enabled 26 Resource
    Conservation Districts (RCDs) around the state to hire watershed
    coordinators by issuing $2 million in grants through a pilot
    program. Watershed coordinators help bring together local
    government, landowners and community groups in order to improve
    water quality and natural wildlife habitat and preserve scenery.

In addition to watershed planning and management, RCDs are authorized to undertake projects such as agricultural land conservation, recreational land restoration, irrigation management, forest stewardship and conservation education. The Department of Conservation will award another $120,000 to promote these activities later this month.