The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) has posted preliminary draft guidelines for the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALCP). These Guidelines serve as the Request for Grant Applications, and application forms for the SALCP. Written comments will be accepted on this draft until Friday, October 31, 2014.
The primary purpose of the SALCP is to support the State’s climate adaptation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments that prevent the conversion of critical agricultural lands to urban or rural residential development. There are three major elements to the long term investments proposed for the SALCP, the third of which will be addressed in future years.
The elements are:
- Sustainable Agricultural Land Strategy Plans – grants to cities, counties, and partners to inventory and evaluate which agricultural lands are most highly productive and critically threatened.
- Agricultural Conservation Easements – provide funding to leverage the permanent protection of strategically located agricultural conservation easements on highly productive and critically threatened agricultural land.
- Land Management Incentives – leverage U.S. Department of Agriculture and other funding sources to incentivize management practices designed to reduce GHGs or sequester carbon on working agricultural operations.
The draft guidelines can be accessed here.
RCRC is concerned that it will be difficult for rural counties to compete for these funds, especially if they adopt the CalEnviroScreen as the sole tool for selecting “disadvantaged communities.” RCRC is soliciting comments from member counties. For additional information please contact RCRC staff Mary Pitto at mpitto@rcrcnet.org.
Workshops on the guidelines will be held later this month in Oroville, Bakersfield, and Watsonville. Full workshop details can be accessed here.