How the Northern California Regional Land Trust works with Farmers and Ranchers to protect the agricultural heritage and future of the North State with agricultural conservation easements. Twenty-one such easements have been achieved in the organization’s 21- years of hard work.
The North State proudly identifies itself with its natural and agricultural landscapes. Breathtaking oak grasslands, rugged mountains, lush riparian corridors, scenic expanses of carefully-tended productive fruit and nut orchards, rice fields and other farm and ranch land, add beauty, life – and livelihoods – to the region. Photo: Jamison Watts, Executive Director of the Northern California Regional Land Trust, and George Nicolaus of the Nicolaus Nut Company standing on land recently protected by a NCRLT agricultural easement.
But the alarming facts indicate that not only are wildlands threatened by increasing urbanization, so are farms and ranchlands. Local non-profit Northern California Regional Land Trust (NCRLT) cites that “[O]f the 2.13 million farms in the U.S., 30 percent may pass to a second generation, but less than 10 percent will pass to a third,” and almost 100,000 acres of California farmland are permanently converted to nonfarming uses each year.
Jamison Watts, 41-year old executive director of NCRLT points out that “When prime farmland is lost, it is lost forever,” but, he adds with hope, when it is protected with an agricultural conservation easement it is protected “‘In perpetuity,’ which is forever and a day.” Photo: Farmland owned by the Nicolaus Nut Company along Comanche Creek in Chico, now protected by an agricultural conservation easement, currently planted in young walnuts.
When it comes to agricultural conservation easements, it Watt’s job, with the help of his three-person staff and six-person board of directors, to help farmers decide on and craft easement agreements that will keep their prime land in agricultural use for just this long: in perpetuity.
This is exactly how long a 145-acre sweep of farmland owned by George and Connie Nicolaus, of Nicolaus Nut Company in Chico, is now destined to remain agricultural. The farm, referred to by the Nicolauses as Comanche Creek, is rich arable almost adjacent to Chico’s Green Line – an invisible line determined by the city’s development plan demarcating urban growth areas from land intended to remain as agricultural. But parcelization is already changing the shape of the land on the ‘green’ side of the green line, and “Our Comanche Creek land could have been broken up into seven 20-acre ranchettes,” Nicolaus explained. Nicolaus has a straight-forward demeanor, he shakes hands firmly and looks you right in the eye. When asked a question, he takes his time answering; likewise, he listens carefully when someone else is answering a question of his. Photo: Farmland owned by the Nicolaus Nut Company along Comanche Creek in Chico, now protected by an agricultural conservation easement, once planted in almonds.
“The Green Line’s ….been controversial over the years,” he continued thoughtfully. “But the older I get, the more I recognize that there’s only so much good dirt to grow things in.” Comanche Creek Farm, sporting a young walnut orchard inter-planted for now with lush, cheerful-faced sunflowers, is a nice chunk of this “good dirt.” “My mindset on these things has changed over time,” admits the Iowa-native who moved to Chico after being in the service and married his wife, Connie, whose family has been in regional agriculture for generations. ‘I have come to understand that these resources are finite.” While none of his three grown daughters seem ready to go into farming, Nicolaus concluded “I am happy to be part of this movement and to be the first farmer along the Green Line corridor to institute such an easement. It might help other farmers take the next step.”
“We are not anti-growth, or anti-development,” Watts assured. “But the NCRLT is working for a balance. When prime farmland is lost, it is lost forever.” In its 21 years of work, the last five of them under the direction of Watts, seven North State farms and ranches have negotiated agricultural conservancy easements with the NCRLT, ensuring that generations of farmers and ranchers will care for and work these approximately 13,753 acres of farm and ranchland in perpetuity. Photo: The historic Leininger Camp property along the western perimeter of the Ishi Wilderness Area in eastern Tehama County, protected by a NCRLT conservation easement since 2007. Photo used by permission of NCRLT.
These properties include Nicolaus’ Comanche Creek Farm and Llano Seco Rancho, owned in trust by the Parrot Investment Company of which farmer Richard Thieriot is a trustee, both in Butte County, as well as Tehama County’s Burrows Ranch, Big Bluff Ranch, and Home Place Farm, owned by the Ohm Family. Four generations of Ohm’s live on Home Place Farm.
Protecting the land does not always seem congruous with selling an easement, especially when public funds are involved. “Ensuring that valuable agricultural land is conserved transcends politics and shifts in government policy/party,” asserts Watts. He then added, “while voter approved-public funds (from propositions such as 40, 50 and 84) dedicated to such conservation projects are often involved and allotted to these projects, land with an agricultural conservation easement is not owned by the government – the black helicopters are not coming,” he added with wry humor. Photo: The Llano Seco Rancho in Butte County is one of the largest easement projects of the NCRLT. 4,235 acres of this land has been protected by a NCRLT conservation easement. Photo used by permission of NCRLT.
The process of a conservation easement normally begins when a landowner contacts the NCRLT to find out more information about how an easement works. They determine what conservation values a potential conservation easement would protect such as agricultural land, forest resources, and/or other valuable natural resources such as wildlife habitat, clean water, clean air, or scenic open space. The landowner then completes an application, which is evaluated by the NCRLT to determine if the land meets its evaluation criteria for that easement type. For farmland applications, the property must be at least 100 acres in size, have irrigated Class 1 or 2 soils, be planted with a high value crop (read: nuts versus sunflowers), and preferably be in some relation to other blocks of protected land.
‘The larger the blocks of protected land we can form, whether it be ag-land or wildlife habitat, the more effective and meaningful that protection will be,” Watts explained, pointing to a map of the region on his office wall. Photo: A 520-acre agricultural conservation easement on the Home Place property in Tehama County. Photo used by permission of NCRLT.
The Trust then goes to work appraising and assessing the land in question and working with the landowner on the actual specifications of the easement. While some easements are donated for tax-breaks to the landowners, others are purchased with funds granted to the NCRLT for this purpose.
Once final, NCRLT holds the easement deed, which “runs with the land” and is part of the land no matter who the owner might be or become. The NCRLT monitors the easement property annually with photos, and periodically reports back to the funders, whether the funder is a private donor or a government entity.
The government agencies responsible for distributing conservation funds for the Comanche Creek and Home Place agricultural easements include the California Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), part of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Photo: George Nicolaus and Jamison Watts at Nicolaus’ Comanche Creek property.
“In some cases, selling an easement not only allows us to protect land for future farmers, but the funds from selling such an easement actually allows the current family to continue in farming as well – the funds can be used to make capital improvements to the operation, it can help buy out family members not interested in farming, it can clear debt,” Watts shared.
Watts is fully appreciative of the weight that each farming or ranching family brings to bear on the decision to place an easement on their property. “For many landowners whose families have sometimes worked the land for multiple generations, the land has become a valued member of the family. Their motivation is protecting both their livelihood and their land for future generations.” Photo: The historic Leininger Camp property along the western perimeter of the Ishi Wilderness Area in eastern Tehama County, protected by a NCRLT conservation easement since 2007. Photo used by permission of NCRLT. Photo: Spring Valley, protected riparian corridor habitat in Butte County near Cherokee. Photo used by permission of NCRLT.
Forever and a day.
For more information on NCRLT go to their website, http://www.landconservation.org/.
Recently, the NCRLT sent out the following press release launching a series of workshops for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in the North Valley
“Supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Northern California Regional Land Trust (NCRLT) is facilitating six workshops October 2011 through March 2012. The workshops will be led by the region’s experts including Northern California Farm Credit, Agriculture Commissioners, Chico State and Butte College faculty, UC Cooperative Extension personnel, and experienced farmers and ranchers. The workshops are aimed at helping beginning farmer and ranches get the tools and resource they need to be successful. Photo: !4-Mile House, 144-acre conservation easement preserving the land for its natural, scenic, agricultural, historic, forested and open space values. Photo used by permission of NCRLT.
Workshop topics will include:
* October 25 – Money Matters: How do you access it?
Conventional and non-traditional lending opportunities
* November 15 – Identifying New Markets for BFRs
Know your buyer, direct marketing, and social networking
* December 13 – Access to Farm Services – Insurance, Liability & Labor
Attractive nuisance? Employees? Crop Insurance? OSHA requirements?
* January 17 – Civics of Agriculture: What every Producer Needs to Know
Ag. Commissioner panel, food safety speed dating and more
* February 14 – For the Love of Conservation: Farming & Conservation
Conservation easements, on-farm conservation practices, barriers
* March 13 – Accessing Land, Farm Succession & Getting Started
Farmland protection, connecting to land, tax implications
Each workshop costs $40 with a 10% discount if you register for all six at once. The October 25th workshop is at the Chico Grange located at 2775 Old Nord Ave. All remaining workshops will be held at the Glenn County Farm Bureau office located at 831 5th Street in Orland. To purchase tickets go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/198157 or call (530) 894-7738.
The Glenn County Resource Conservation District is hosting a separate workshop series focusing specifically on financial planning for BFRs. For more information, they can be reached at (530) 934-4601 ext 5.
More of my environmental writing can be found in the Chico News & Review, and Pacific Horticulture. Christine LaPado, Greenways Editor of the Chico News & Review provided editorial input on this article. Follow Jewellgarden.com/In a North State Garden on Facebook.
To submit plant/gardening related events/classes to the Jewellgarden.com on-line Calendar of Regional Gardening Events, send the pertinent information to me at: Jennifer@jewellgarden.com
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In a North State Garden is a weekly Northstate Public Radio and web-based program celebrating the art, craft and science of home gardening in Northern California. Made possible in part by the Gateway Science Museum – Exploring the Natural History of the North State and on the campus of CSU, Chico, In a North State Garden is conceived, written, photographed and hosted by Jennifer Jewell – all rights reserved jewellgarden.com. In a North State Garden airs on Northstate Public Radio Saturday mornings at 7:34 AM Pacific time and Sunday morning at 8:34 AM Pacific time. Podcasts of past shows are available here.
