FMMP - Rural Land Mapping Project

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Documenting greater detail within the 'Other Land' category

The Rural Land Mapping project was undertaken to better characterize conversions affecting agricultural land that are not due to urbanization.  This type of conversion affects one out of every five acres removed from crop or grazing land uses.  Examples include conversions to gravel mining, wetlands, low-density residential development, or to agriculturally related uses such as confined animal agriculture or compost facilities.   

The project began in 2002 with four pilot counties and has expanded in the 2006 data to include all eight San Joaquin Valley counties in the FMMP survey area.  The work involves subdividing the miscellaneous Other Land map classification into five new categories, as described below.  Data is available in GIS format, as PDF maps, and as statistics (XLSX format, search by county​). 

A more detailed description of the project's findings to date is also available upon request.

Rural L​​​​and Mapping Categories​​​​

 Photo Example

Rural Residential LandResidential areas of 1 to 5 structures per 10 acres ('ranchettes').Rural Residential example image
Semi-agricultural and Rural Commercial      Lan​​​d
Farmsteads, agricultural storage and packing sheds, unpaved parking areas,  composting facilities, equine facilities, firewood lots, and campgrounds. packing shed
Vacant or Disturbed LandOpen field areas that do not qualify as an agricultural category, mineral and oil extraction areas, off road vehicle areas, electrical substations, channelized canals, and rural freeway interchanges. Vacant or Disturbed Land example image
Confined Animal AgriculturePoultry facilities, feedlots, dairy facilities, fish farms - this use may be a component of  Farmland of Local Importance in some counties.  Confined Animal Agriculture image example
Nonagricultural or Natural VegetationHeavily wooded, rocky/barren areas, riparian and wetland areas, grassland areas which do not qualify as Grazing Land due to their size or land management restrictions, small water bodies and recreational water ski lakes.  Constructed wetlands are also included in this category. Nonagricultural Vegetation image example
Please note: these classes are not designed for interpretation as 'habitat'.  Differences between vacant/disturbed land and nonagricultural/natural vegetation are a function of level of disturbance, relative location, and time period since disturbance occurred.


FMMP initiated this project because of requests from the user community and we hope to design a product that meets your needs yet is fiscally practical.  Please email FMMP​ if you have questions or comments about the Rural Land Mapping project.  ​

Rural Land Mapping Project Links