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Looking to add to the existing protected farming and ranching lands in the community, the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust (SBALT) is pursuing a 395-acre easement acquisition in the San Juan Valley, an effort which has been bolstered by state grant funding.
On Oct. 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced the local nonprofit has been awarded $3.25 million as part of the state’s $128 million in grant funding aimed at protecting more than 40,000 acres of cropland and rangeland across 24 counties in California.
The funding is part of the Sustainable Agricultural Land Conservation program, which aims in part to “protect critical agricultural lands that are at risk of conversion to more energy intensive uses.”
Executive Director Lynn Overtree said the funding allows the land trust to proceed with purchasing an agricultural conservation easement, meaning the land owners retain ownership but forfeit the right to develop it to non-agricultural uses.
The land trust would pay the owner the value of developing the property, Overtree said, adding that the easement would remain with the property permanently even if it’s sold.
“This funding toward creating a permanent agricultural conservation easement represents the commitment that the local farming community has to long-term agriculture,” she said. “San Benito Agricultural Land Trust’s goal is that the owners find this to be a positive experience and outcome for their operation.”
She said the land trust protects 7,600 acres in the county either through ownership or easement and that the nonprofit has a goal of increasing that by 5,000 acres in five years.
While she declined to identify the property it’s pursuing, she said it’s near San Juan Bautista where the nonprofit has other properties under easements and that it is “almost all” productive farmland.
Overtree said she expects to finalize the easement purchase in about a year.
She said the process involves finalizing grant agreements with the state and working on an agreement with the property owner, which might require appraisals, title reviews and potentially surveys of the property.
“Ideally, it will inspire other landowners to protect ongoing productive agriculture through an easement, or other method that works for them,” Overtree said. “SBALT is grateful to have a role in preserving San Benito County’s agricultural industry and heritage.”
The award to the land trust follows an Oct. 7 announcement by Palo Alto-based conservation nonprofit Peninsula Open Space Trust that it acquired 668 acres along the Pajaro River in Santa Clara and San Benito counties for $7.8 million.
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