About Us
Our Mission Statement
It is the purpose of the Ag Land Trust to assist in the preservation and protection of all productive and important agricultural, open space and historical lands in Monterey County (and adjacent areas). Such action will contribute directly to the social, cultural, environmental and economic well being of the County while enhancing its unique character as a desirable place to live and work.
What We Do
The Ag Land Trust was one of the first land trusts in the state of California founded to exclusively serve the needs of the agricultural community. The land trust partners with willing landowners to protect productive agricultural acreage primarily in Monterey County, but in neighboring counties as well. The Ag Land Trust was created with the interests of landowners in mind. Our primary goal is to protect agricultural land and increase awareness among farmers and ranchers about the use of easements and other conservation tools.
Partnering With Landowners to Preserve California’s Agricultural Heritage
The Ag Land Trust has had the honor of partnering with dozens of farming and ranching families to protect California’s precious agricultural heritage. To date, our landowners have partnered with us to protect over 50,000 acres of protected agricultural land. We would like to thank all of those landowners and their families for their dedication and support.
Services We Offer
Mitigation is a term used to describe projects or programs that offset impacts to a natural resource. Although California’s farmland is precious and the loss of it can never be fully compensated for, impacts to farmland can be partly mitigated for by permanently protecting similar land.
Local jurisdictions, including the State of California and Monterey County, have recognized the importance of addressing the impacts of agricultural land conversion. A number of cities, counties, and Local Area Formation Commissions (LAFCOs) require mitigation for the loss of farmland via in-lieu fees or direct purchases of conservation easements on similar land.
Where mitigation is required, Ag Land Trust can help identify, select, and acquire conservation easements or fee-title on appropriate farmland, as well as monitor or manage conserved land in perpetuity.
Ag Land Trust prides itself in our ability to provide customized mitigation solutions by working with local entities and willing sellers to secure easements to meet the agricultural mitigation requirements established in a project’s environmental documents.
Public Notice - Land Trust Alliance Accreditation
The Land Trust Alliance’s land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Ag Land Trust is pleased to announce that it is a candidate for national accreditation. A public comment period is now open.
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. After 40 years of successful farmland conservation projects protecting over 50,000 acres, the Ag Land Trust’s continuing pursuit of professional excellence now includes our goal of accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance Commission.
The Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how Ag Land Trust complies with national quality standards. These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust. For the full list of standards see http://www.landtrustaccreditation.org/help-and-resources/indicator-practices.
To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org, or email your comment to [email protected]. Comments may also be mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments, 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.