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Objective 2.B
Enhance (and develop new) partnerships and programs to protect strategic parcels of farmland, rangeland and associated conservation lands.

Proposed Places to Start in 2008:
1.    Create regional workgroups of CA planners, health advocates, food system advocates, land preservation organizations, farmers, conservation organizations, and relevant state agencies to explore ways that new and existing partnerships could conserve farmland and rangeland in the next 20 years. Task this group with:
a.    Determining the feasibility of existing and additional models of land protection, with special focus on easements. This could include evaluating how other conservation programs, such as Partners for Fish and Wildlife or the Wetlands Reserve Program work to protect parcels in 20-30 year timeframes.
b.    Prioritizing farmlands based on development and conservation values.
2.    Develop “model” regional land-use principles that can be adopted by local governments, following the Ventura AFA example. Use these principals to influence county general plans all over the state.

Potential Future Actions 2009-2012:
3.    Create and support existing programs such as Farmlink that aid retiring farmers in passing on their land to new farmers, rather than selling their land for development.
4.    Partner with the state to research and the lay groundwork to adopt statewide targets for population density and farmland preservation. Incorporate inter-county density trading.
5.    Adopt a statewide real estate transaction fee to generate funding that can be used to preserve farmland.  Connect this to programs that assist young/new farmers and sustainable business incubators.
6.    Work with agencies and legislators to designate $750 million in easement funds to decrease the backlog of agricultural conservation easements and create a system of fast-track easements (sometimes land comes up for sale but by the time the easement can be put in place the land sells) by 2015.  
7.    Work with the state to create $10-20 million revolving easement fund.
 
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