National, State, and Local
Land Preservation Programs
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Public interest in agricultural land protection,
especially against fragmentation and haphazard
development, has increased steadily since
the 1950s. As this interest has grown, the
preservation toolbox has expanded from local
and state to the federal level. USDA programs
designed to preserve working agricultural
landscapes include:
- Farm
and Ranch Lands Protection Program
(FRPP): FRPP leverages
federal funds with state and local
funds to purchase conservation easements
on prime and locally important or unique
land by limiting conversion to non-agricultural
uses.
- Forest
Legacy Program (FLP): FLP establishes
partnerships between the Forest Service
(FS) and state forestry agencies to protect
environmentally important private forestlands
from conversion to non-forest uses.
- Grassland
Reserve Program (GRP):
Through conservation easements or rental
agreements, GRP protects and restores
grasslands from conversion to cropland
and other non-agricultural uses and
enables viable ranching operations
to restore plant and animal biodiversity.
State and Local
Over the past 50 years, public and private
organizations at the state and local levels
have used a variety of tools to preserve
agricultural land. Examples of these tools
include:
- Differential Tax Assessment Programs:
Beginning in 1956 with the inception of
Maryland ’s differential property
tax assessment program, today every state
except Michigan has a differential property
tax assessment program that assesses agricultural
land based on its use value, instead of
its fair market value. The program either
reduces property taxes on agricultural
lands or defers taxes for as long as the
land remains in agriculture.
- Agricultural District Programs:
California enacted the first agricultural
districts law in 1965, commonly known as
the Williamson Act. Landowners are allowed
to create “agricultural preserves” areas.
New York was the first state to create
a comprehensive agricultural district program
to protect farmland and support the farming
business. Agricultural district programs
operated in 16 states as of 2001 [ FIC
(Farmland
Information Center) fact sheets]. Agricultural
districts are legally recognized geographic
entities where agricultural activities
and their land bases are encouraged and
protected. In addition, all 50 states have
nuisance protection statutes (also known
as “right-to-farm” laws) for
agricultural operations.
- Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR) Programs: In 1967, Boulder
County in Colorado established a
TDR program to protect agricultural lands
and open space. This program enables
landowners to transfer the development
rights on one parcel of land to another
parcel of land, such as from an agricultural
zone to designated higher-density development
areas. Besides maintaining working agricultural
landscapes, TDR programs may be designed
for multiple purposes, such as to conserve
environmentally sensitive areas or preserve
historic landmarks. As of 2000, Montgomery
County in Maryland had more than 40,000
acres, which accounted for 60 percent
of the national total, enrolled in TDR
program (FIC fact sheets).
- Purchase of Agricultural Conservation
Easement (PACE) Programs: In
1974, Suffolk County in New York enacted
the first PACE (also known as purchase
of development rights or PDR) program.
King County in Washington and the states
of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Connecticut
quickly followed suit. PACE programs
are voluntary on the landowner’s
part and permanently protect agricultural
land by removing the development rights.
As of 2003, the PACE program operates
in 23 states, including 19 statewide
and more than 45 local programs (FIC
fact sheets). This program has expanded
due to the federal FRPP, FLP, and GRP,
which provide matching funds to support
local, state, and private easement acquisitions.
- Conservation Easement Donations:
For landowners, one of the most common
ways to permanently preserve agricultural
land is to donate a conservation easement
(therein extinguishing the identified development
rights) to a qualified conservation organization
or public entity. If donating the entire
easement value is not feasible, landowners
can make a partial donation. According
to the Land
Trust Alliance (LTA), more than 1,260
local and regional land trusts were operating
in the United States in 2000. These organizations
have preserved more than 6.2 million acres
of farmland and other natural and cultural
resources.
- Other Tools: Communities
need to use a combination of tools and
techniques as part of a comprehensive effort
to protect agricultural land. Examples
of other common tools that communities
can use include comprehensive planning
initiatives; agricultural zoning; regional
tax sharing; urban growth boundaries and
growth management; and agricultural viability
and economic development programs.
Land-Grant Colleges and Universities (LGUs)
Many programs related to agricultural land
preservation may be found in the Land-Grant
University System. Some examples include:
- Research,
Education, and Extension:
Each U.S. state and territory has at
least one land-grant university (LGU)
including state agricultural experiment
station(s) and a state cooperative
extension service. The experiment stations
generate knowledge through strategic
research to enhance agriculture, natural
resources, families, and communities.
The state extension service provides
educational training and outreach to
local citizens and groups and has a county
or regional extension office near
most U.S. residents. Both the agricultural
experiment stations and the nationwide
Cooperative Extension Service have
a long history of engagement in research,
teaching, education, extension, and
outreach on issues surrounding land
use and policy. Scientists conduct
research, such as to assess the environmentally
significant values on land or understand
the implications of land-use policy.
Teaching trains future scientists and
educators who will discover or transfer
knowledge to address land-use issues
and implications for the environment
and ecosystems. Extension and outreach
supports the local citizens by facilitating
informed discussions on land use and
setting priorities for decisionmaking
at the community level.
- Land-Use Endowed Chairs:
The increasingly importance and complexity
of land-use issues have led to two endowed
chairs being established in the LGUs: (1)
the C.
William Swank Rural-Urban Policy Chair at
the Ohio State University; and (2) the
John Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land
Policy at Michigan State University.
Both land-use endowed chairs provide substantial
leadership at the state and national levels
to address these complex issues through
research, education, extension, and outreach.
- Examples of LGU Land-Use Education
Programs: In addition to the
two land-use endowed programs noted above,
several examples of land-use programs
at the LGUs include the University
of California at Davis, Colorado
State University, Michigan
State University, Ohio
State University, Pennsylvania
State University, Purdue
University, University
of Wisconsin, and University
of Wyoming.
Nongovernmental Organizations
Increasingly, in partnership with local,
state, or federal programs, many nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), especially land trusts,
work to preserve agricultural lands and open
space. Until recently, except in California,
most NGOs accepted donated conservation easements.
As the 2002 Farm Bill made qualified NGOs
eligible to receive federal funds, land trusts
have since increased in purchasing agricultural
conservation easements. Most land trust activities
take place at the local and state levels,
such as the Colorado
Coalition of Land Trusts and Sonoran
Institute. However, prominent national
organizations working on land preservation
include the American
Farmland Trust (AFT), the Land
Trust Alliance (LTA) , and the Trust
for Public Land.
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