California Approves $45.5 Million to Protect 17,381 Acres of Farmland and Rangeland Across 16 Counties

The California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) has approved more than $45.5 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program grants to permanently protect 17,381 acres of croplands and rangelands across 16 counties.

The Round 11, Cycle A awards will fund 23 projects statewide, including 19 agricultural conservation easements and four fee title acquisitions. The counties benefiting from this round are Butte, Calaveras, Fresno, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Tehama, and Tulare.

Two of the four fee title acquisitions are led by a California Native American tribe and will result in the return of 408 acres of land to California Native American tribes or ownership by a tribal nonprofit. A third fee title acquisition of 586 acres would provide a California Native American tribe a cultural easement for access and stewardship. The tribes and nonprofit include the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the ytt Northern Chumash Nonprofit and the Amah Mutsun Tribe. In total, these three projects represent $9.78 million—20.76% of the total available funding—and will help secure land tenure for tribes and their members.

“Each of these awarded projects provides multiple benefits — from protecting wildlife and habitats to supporting agricultural and tribal food systems to promoting biodiversity and soil health,” said Erin Curtis, executive director of SGC. “By returning land to California tribes and protecting productive farmlands, the SALC Program is essential to smart growth, resilience, and achieving California’s climate goals. We’re incredibly proud to be among the partners that bring these projects to fruition.”

“This round of awards for 23 acquisition projects across 16 counties comes at a time when open space and farmland are truly at risk from urban sprawl and also marks a pivotal moment for the return of land to Native American Tribes,” said Jennifer Lucchesi, director of the California Department of Conservation. “These conservation easements and fee acquisitions promote a wide variety of benefits such as food security, critical wildlife corridors, tribal cultural preservation, and sustainable growth. We are thrilled to be partnering with Tribes, ranchers, farmers, and SGC to ensure these lands will be protected for generations to come.”

Acquisition grants support deed restrictions that landowners voluntarily place on their property to conserve agricultural resources in perpetuity. Conservation easements help prevent farmland conversion to development, which in turn avoids increased vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting carbon sequestration. They also bolster local agricultural economies and access to nutritious food, protect native plants and wildlife habitat, and support sustainable land management practices that can reduce wildfire risk.

Of the 27 applications submitted for Round 11, Cycle A, eight were developed using SALC capacity and project development funding, seven of which were recommended for award. Once completed, the investments from this cycle are projected to avoid an estimated 1,305,268 metric tons of carbon dioxide—equivalent to removing 304,461 gas-powered cars from the road for one year.

The awards were announced at the April 29 SGC Council meeting in Merced. More information on the projects is available on the meeting webpage. SALC will continue with Round 11, Cycle B conservation acquisition and land use planning awards at the October SGC Council meeting.

SALC is a component of SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program and complements urban infrastructure investments by funding agricultural conservation easements, agricultural land strategy plans, and other tools that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the resilience of California’s agricultural sector. The program is funded through California Climate Investments, the state’s Cap-and-Invest initiative that directs billions toward projects that cut pollution, protect public health, strengthen local economies, and support natural environments, with a focus on communities most impacted by pollution and limited access to resources. The California Department of Conservation, working with the Natural Resources Agency, serves as SGC’s implementation partner for SALC.

The California Strategic Growth Council includes state-agency secretaries and directors along with three appointed public members, and is chaired by the Director of the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. The Council collaborates with public agencies, communities, and stakeholders to advance sustainability, equity, economic prosperity, and quality of life for all Californians.