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Objective 2.H
Accelerate conservation and enhancement of on-farm riparian, wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Proposed Action for 2008:
1.    Leverage federal Farm Bill funding to provide incentives and compensation to farmers supplying on-farm conservation services using existing tools in various programs including but not limited to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), WHIP and EQIP.
2.    Co-create AFA type roundtables with the landscape-scale stewardship incentive program (objective 2E) in order to bring all current on the ground actors in this area (TNC, Audubon, RCDs and local watershed groups) together with local communities and other regional food system actors in order to build the funding base and critical mass to restore entire watersheds.  Work within these regional groups to create unique approaches to unique systems.

Potential Future Actions for 2009-2012:
3.    Creating a more equitable rental-based system when farmland is taken out of production that are based on local California rental rates would be a start for some protecting programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program.
4.    Work with CRP to develop actual rental rates (e.g., $120/acre for rangeland or $300+/acre for tomatoes) for land that is restored and taken out of production. The rental rates will cover the cost of restoration, provide long-term maintenance rates, and maintain a standard of habitat quality. The program should address local rental rates, and different types of restoration land.  Monitoring the long-term benefits of such a program over 20-30 years with multiple taxa is critical to success of such a program.
5.    Create full riparian zone protection by 2030.  Aim above mentioned programs towards achieving an appropriate corridor based on localized geomorphological, soil and habitat conditions on each side of rivers and creeks that run through agricultural lands, protecting approximately 158,000 acres in streamside buffers by 2030.
6.    Create full protection for currently unprotected wetlands. Focus above-mentioned programs on creating a statewide effort to designate approximately 169,000 acres of current agricultural land as stand-alone wetlands, and compensate landowners accordingly, thereby protecting wetlands found on agricultural lands in California.  
7.    Focus above mentioned efforts on creating programs that support the development and use of integrated farming and wildlife habitat management to protect approximately 6.9 million acres in wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors, while continuing to cultivate those lands. Create full wildlife habitat management by 2030.  
 
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