LVEA Newsletter: Winter 2005 2006

AGRICULTURE PRESERVATION WORKING GROUP'S GOAL

Welcome to the LVEA Newsletter for Winter 2005 2006 where we focus on the Agriculture Preservation Working Group's goal to keep farmers farming!

The Agriculture Preservation Working Group coordinated by Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance is working to help keep farmers farming in the Lahontan Valley. 

Meeting on a monthly basis, this group of farmers, ranchers, landowners, developers, realtors, County, City and Navy representatives, organizations interested in the well fare of agriculture, and the interested public has identified concerns in regard to preserving agriculture as development of the area continues and have developed some strategies to meet these concerns. 

Farmers and ranchers have expressed their concerns and have explained what, from their viewpoint, will keep farmers farming in Lahontan Valley.

·        The thing that helps farmers stay in farming is quality of life that includes security, lack of assault and lack of uncertainty.  Security, as it relates to water, is the most important thing for farmers.

·        There is a great need to encourage young people to stay in farming.

·        Farmers are not getting enough credit for their contribution to wetlands and wildlife.

·        Transfer Development Rights and Conservation Easements may work in the short term but there is a need to make changes in farming methods and crops grown in order to sustain agriculture. 

·        There is concern that water conserved by a change in farming practices will be lost to upstream users and that legislation to allow farmers to keep their conserved water is needed.

·        It is important that water rights be given value and kept on the land as they are needed for agriculture and recharge of the aquifer.

·         Concern was expressed that land and water right purchasers would target Lahontan Valley buying out 40% or more of the water/land and use that for justification to shut off the Truckee Canal and keep the water rights up stream. 

·         It is believed that, due to up stream development, there is less water coming to the Lahontan Reservoir and that recharge is being impacted.  Many upstream water rights have priority dates prior to the Newlands Project and so could have an affect on our area since most basins are over appropriated.

·        Farmers may have a hard time turning down the large amounts of money developers are willing to pay for land and water rights. 

The message from upstream is that farming is going away but it does not have to go away if we do not want to let it go away.  

Some of the things that can help farmers continue to farm are already set in motion. 

 
  • The County Right to Farm Ordinance continues in effect.
  • Large farms can be divided into smaller farms that allow the water to continue to stay on the land and the land to continue to be farmed rather than developed. 
  • Cluster developments allow farmers to develop on a small portion of land and keep farming the remainder. 
  • Conservation easements have been placed on some farms using Question 1 Conservation and Resource Protection Grant funding and Farm & Ranch Land Protection Act funding. This will allow the farmers to continue farming and also be compensated for providing recharge, open space, river corridor protection, wildlife preservation and outstanding viewsheds. 
The county is developing a comprehensive water study and regional water plan that
  • includes Churchill County, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, the Navy and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife. 
  • The Navy is working in partnership with the County to fund conservation easements that will preserve agriculture land and open space in the Navy buffer zone. 

There are other strategies being developed to preserve Agriculture in the Lahontan Valley:

·        A Transfer Development Right Ordinance is being developed that would allow the landowner to sell development rights to a developer or to the County and continue to farm the land. The development rights could be sold as one unit or a few at a time.  As well as generating money from the sale of TDR's, the farmer could also receive a tax break. 

  • The possibility of conserving water through the use of different crops, drip irrigation and strip irrigation were discussed.  This would allow farmers to use conserved water to expand their operations.  Lands that have had water removed could be put back into production. 

·        To help farmers continue to farm, income generated from property must be increased by growing more valued crops, making it more profitable for the farmer through incentives, and providing water stability. 

The farmer is helping to maintain recharge, open space, drinking water, wildlife, as well the rural atmosphere that so many of the new people coming to this community to enjoy.  It is very important for this community to support agriculture and to help keep the farmer farming.

               

QUESTION 1 GRANT PROGRAM
ROUND 4 APPLICATIONS
 ACCEPTED IN JANUARY 2006 

Pre-applications for round four of the Question 1 Conservation and Resource Protection Grant Program will be accepted in January 2006 by the Division of State Lands. 

The Question 1 Program originated with passage of Ballot Question 1, in 2002, that was a proposal to issue bonds in the amount of $200 million for conservation and resource protection. $65.5 million of the bond proceeds have been allocated to the Division of State Lands to administer grant programs. 

The Question 1 funding gives opportunities for projects such as enhancement and restoration of the Carson River corridor, protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat, riparian corridors, wetlands, open space projects, parks and green belts, and construction of recreational trails. 

Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance is coordinating the Churchill County Question 1 Conservation and Resource Preservation Grant Program projects.  Projects that are desired and appropriate for Churchill County will be reviewed for round 4 of the grant program in the near future but there is still time to submit proposals. 

In previous rounds, several farms in the Lahontan Valley have been awarded funding for conservation easements through the Question 1 Grant Program.   Especially successful in gaining funding for conservation easements are farms that have river frontage.  The conservation easements help to protect the river corridor and flood plain and still allow the farmer to continue farming. 

If you have an interest in Question 1 Grant Program funding, please contact LVEA at 775 423-0525 for more information.