DOC Awards $1.9 Million for Local and Regional Planning and Land Trust Capacity Projects

​​​​​​October 10, 2019

SACRAMENTO -- The California Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Working Lands and Riparian Corridors Program has awarded $1.9 million in funding to 22 proposals to plan, develop, and implement climate adaptation and resilience projects throughout the state. Funding for the proposals was allocated to DOC by the Proposition 68 California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.

Local and Regional Planning Gran​ts 

Eight grants totaling $950,000 were awarded to local governments, regional governments, and planning organizations to integrate natural and working lands, specifically agricultural lands, into local and regional planning documents. Examples of awarded projects include carbon farm planning, general plan updates, protection of riparian areas on agricultural lands, climate action planning, and implementation of TerraCount, ​a land use planning tool.  

Grantees are listed in the table below: ​

​​​Grantee​
​Project Description
​Grant Award
​City of Arcata
​General Plan Update
​$100,000
​County of Marin
​Carbon Farm
​​$72,252
​County of Mariposa
​TerraCount
​$100,00
​County of Santa Barbara
​TerraCount and Climate Action Plan Update
​​$90,157
​County of Santa Clara
​San Martin Farm Futures Plan
​$164,123
​Joint counties of San Mateo and Santa Clara
​General Plan policies and Carbon Farm Practices for region
​$169,468
​San Diego Association of Governments
​TerraCount
​$100,00
​Sonoma County Agri​cultural Preservation and Open Space District​

​Planning for Easements on Ag Land for riparian habitat and restoration and TerraCount
​​$154,000

Land Trust Capa​city Grants

Nearly $950,000 was awarded to 14 land trusts to build capacity to initiate and conduct agricultural conservation activities in their service areas.  These projects will increase the pace and scale of agricultural land conservation throughout the state and support climate adaptation and resilience via agricultural lands conservation. 

Grantees will use this funding to integrate agricultural land conservation and climate adaptation goals into their conservation strategies, as well as develop agricultural land conservation projects that provide climate adaptation or resilience benefits to the state. 

Grantees are listed in the table below: ​​

​​Grantees
​Project Description
​Grant Award
​American Farmland Trust
​Project Development
​$74,988
​Bear Yuba Land Trust 
​Strategic Planning & Project Development
​$85,000
​California Farmland Trust
​Project Development
​$75,000
​Eastern Sierra Land Trust
​Project Development
​$75,000
​Northern California Regional Land Trust
​Project Development
​$74,515
​Placer Land Trust
​Strategic Planning & Project Development
​$65,529
​San Benito Agricultural Land Trust
​Strategic Planning and Project Development
​$43,020
​San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust
​Strategic Planning & Project Development
​$43,020
​Santa Clara River Conservancy
​Strategic Planning
​​$9,999
​Sequoia Riverlands Trust

​Project Development
​$75,000
​Shasta Land Trust

​Project Development
​$75,000
​Sierra Foothills Conservancy

​Strategic Planning & Project Development
​$85,000
​Siskiyou Land Trust

​Project Development
​$73,375

​Solano Land Trust
​Strategic Planning & Project Development
​$85,000

Working Lands and Riparian Corridors program provides grants to protect, restore, and enhance working lands and riparian corridors through conservation easements and restoration projects on agricultural lands.

Proposition 68 bond funds are allocated annually through the California State Budget Act. More information about Proposition 68 can be found on the California Natural Resources Agency website.