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SALINAS, Calif. --
The Salinas Valley is known as the
"Salad Bowl of the World." The weather
patterns allow for year-round crop
production of a variety of crops.
Agriculture represents 40 percent of
Monterey County's total economy.
But the county's
agricultural land faces development
pressure as Bay Area and Silicon Valley
workers willing to accept longer
commutes in exchange for more affordable
housing migrate south.
The Dolan Ranch, 180
acres of prime irrigated farmland, will
never be paved over. Using grants
totaling more than $1.2 million from the
California Department of Conservation
and the Packard Foundation, the Monterey
County Agricultural and Historical Land
Conservancy, Inc., has purchased an
agricultural conservation easement on
the property. The landowners -- the
descendants of Jim and Elva Dolan, who
started farming the property in the
1920s -- retain control of the property,
but the non-agricultural development
potential has been permanently
extinguished.
James and Elva Dolan
passed the land along to their three
daughters, Lorraine Rodriguez and twins
Aldene Fanoe and Alda Lauritson.
Lorraine Rodriguez passed away last
year, leaving her share to her husband
Jim and her five children.
"Jim Dolan worked
this farm for many years and his wife,
Elva, made sure it continued to be used
for farming when he passed on," said
family member John Fanoe. "Selling the
development rights to the property is in
keeping with their wishes. Agriculture
is a way of life to this family."
California Department
of Conservation Director Darryl Young
commended the family for taking steps to
keep this land in production. "We hope
other landowners around the county and
the state will follow their lead," he
said, adding: "We have worked with the
Monterey County Agricultural and
Historical Land Conservancy on several
projects in the past and congratulate
them on their efforts to protect
irreplaceable agricultural land."
The Dolan Ranch,
which currently grows vegetables and
strawberries, is located between the
Salinas city limits and the city's water
treatment facility on the edge of the
Salinas River. Spokesman Sherwood
Darington said the land trust hopes the
easement encourages the city to grow to
the east, on less productive farmland.
Founded in 1984, the private, non-profit
conservancy has acquired easements on
about 6,500 acres of Monterey County
land.
"The Dolan Ranch is
in the Blanco area, meaning it’s some of
the best of the best farmland in the
county," Darington said. "We've very
proud to play a part in ensuring that
the land will be used for agricultural
purposes in the future."
California's
agricultural production totaled nearly
$26.7 billion in 1999; Monterey County's
total was $2.37 billion, surpassed in
the state only by Fresno and Tulare
counties. But California's population of
more than 33 million is expected to grow
to 50 million by 2025, and many acres of
farmland are being developed to
accommodate that growth. According to
DOC's Farmland Mapping and Monitoring
Program, nearly 43,000 acres of
agricultural land -- an area about the
size of the city of Modesto -- was
urbanized between 1996 and 1998.
"The needs of a
growing population and the needs of
agriculture don't always dovetail," said
DOC Director Young. "But the California
Farmland Conservancy Program offers a
partnership between landowners, land
trusts and government agencies that
helps to balance the needs of both
sides."
The California
Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP),
administered by the Department of
Conservation's Division of Land Resource
Protection, gave the land trust $601,865
to purchase the easement. The Packard
Foundation, which provides national and
international grants in a variety of
areas, contributed $604,300.
The CFCP is designed
to ensure that the state's most valuable
farmland will not be developed. Through
the program, local governments and
non-profit organizations can receive
grants to purchase development rights
from willing landowners, thus creating
permanent conservation. CFCP funds
remain for new grant proposals.
Landowners and land trusts are
encouraged to contact the Department of
Conservation/Division of Land Resource
Protection for information on the
program and potential grant funding. The
division's Web address is
www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp.
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