The value of conservation easements

Feb 27, 2007 11:35 PM

A newly published report looks at whether agricultural easements preserve farmland from urban influences. Presented by the American Farmland Trust (AFT), the four-part study is the first national study of agricultural conservation easement programs.

Agricultural easements allow landowners to sell and/or donate the development rights on their farms to government or nonprofit organizations in exchange for agreeing to keep the land permanently available for agriculture.

The use of farm easements has grown exponentially since the 1970s; today thirty-three states have at least one publicly funded easement program at the state or local level.

Overall, the study found that: "Among all techniques for protecting farmland in urbanizing communities, easements hold the most promise---considering their perpetuity, voluntary participation by landowners, and the matching of public purposes and farmer interests," says Alvin Sokolow, project co-director, University of California-Davis.

In the study, five measurements of effective farmland protection were applied to the experience of local easement programs nationwide to determine their success.

"We learned that easement programs operated by local and state governments and non-profit land trusts throughout the United States vary greatly in effectiveness and efficiency. Some do a much better job than others in protecting farmland in strategic locations, holding urban sprawl in check, retaining easement-protected properties in active farming, and building durable stewardship--all marks of the effective use of public and private dollars in this still relatively young technique," adds Sokolow.

A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: Measuring Success in Protecting Farmland with Easements– Report 4 was based on an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of 46 programs in 15 states, that examined practices and approaches that have helped communities protect farm and ranch land across America. The programs studied have spent a total of $2.3 billion to protect about 1.1 million acres—nearly half of all publicly funded farmland protection programs in the nation.

Report 1, containing profiles and maps of the studied programs, was released in 2003, Reports 2 and 3 looking at how easement programs select farmland to fund and how easement programs and local planning work together, were issued in 2006.

"Most of the programs have impressively protected many acres and parcels of farmland, which, in many cases, continue to be farmed despite later purchase by non-farmers. Some programs have redirected or influenced urban growth. Our study pinpoints the roots and characteristics of the effective use of agricultural easements," said project co-director Anita Zurbrugg, American Farmland Trust. "So the findings from these reports provide a valuable baseline on which to build—both for further research and for policy makers, program managers, planners and citizens devoted to land conservation."

All four reports can be viewed at: http://www.farmland.org/resources/reports/NationalView.asp and www.farmfoundation.org.

Subscribe to American Cowman Update e-newsletter!

Breaking industry news in your e-mail inbox every other week!
Subscribe at http://subscribe.americancowman.com/subscribe.cfm.