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SACRAMENTO -- The
amount of agricultural land in Butte
County continued to decrease while urban
and wildlife refuge land increased,
according to a new map released by the
California Department of Conservation.
Nearly 5,000 acres
were removed from agricultural
categories and placed in urban and
“other” land classes between 2000 and
2002. More than half the change was
associated with better documentation of
wildlife areas.
The Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program (FMMP), part of
DOC's Division of Land Resource
Protection, documents land-use
conversion on 45.8 million acres of
California’s private and public land
every two years. The maps and statistics
are designed to help local governments
evaluate land-use planning decisions.
The 2000-2002 mapping – the clearest
look yet at state land use thanks to
improved digital mapping processes -- is
ongoing throughout the state.
“This information
helps counties and cities see the
patterns and make informed choices about
how they want to direct growth in the
future,” Department of Conservation
Director Darryl Young said. “The
population of California will continue
to grow. It’s vital that we ensure
there’s enough room for people and
agriculture.”
The Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program classifies land
as either irrigated or non-irrigated
farmland, grazing land, urban land,
other land or water. The “other”
category includes low-density "ranchettes,"
wetlands, and brush or timberlands
unsuitable for grazing.
In Butte County,
according to the most recent FMMP
report, urban land increased by 2,156
acres, although it should be noted that
half of this increase was due to the use
of more detailed digital imagery. A
total of 4,992 acres -- including
2,409 acres of
irrigated farmland -- were taken out of
agricultural usage during the 2000-02
period. Additions to wildlife refuges in
the western and southern parts of the
county were the primary cause of these
conversions.
Examples of recent
urbanization in Butte County included
the 90-acre Tuscan Ridge Golf Club east
of Chico, housing developments of about
75 acres each south of Chico off Skyway
Road and in South Oroville, and the
45-acre Autumn Park housing development
north of Chico.
Since the 1990 FMMP
survey, Butte County has gained more
than 6,200 urbanized acres; just over
21,000 agricultural acres have been
reclassified to urban or “other” land.
The agricultural land
in Butte County will continue to face
development pressure in the foreseeable
future. The California Department of
Finance projects that the county’s
population will increase from 205,400 in
2000 to 308,900 by 2020.
According to the
California Department of Food and
Agriculture, the gross value of Butte
County’s agricultural production was
$205.5 million in 2002.
The maps have been
sent to county planning officials and
organizations such as the county Farm
Bureau, Local Agency Formation
Commission, city planners, irrigation
districts and county resource
conservation districts. Printed copies,
enlargements, or digital versions of the
maps are available to the public. Call
(916) 324-0859 or email
fmmp@consrv.ca.gov for more
information.
The latest statewide
study by the FMMP, Farmland Conversion
Report 1998-2000, was released last
June. More than 91,000 acres were
urbanized throughout the state (a
30-percent increase from the 1996-98
mapping cycle), much of that from
irrigated farmland.
Through the
Department of Conservation, the state
offers programs that provide financial
incentives to keep land in agricultural
use.
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