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WOODLAND
-- The State of California and
Department of Conservation today
recognized Yolo County’s work to
preserve agricultural land, and
especially its administration of the
Williamson Act, with a first-of-its-kind
award.
“We applaud Yolo
County’s commitment to creating an
environment in which farming and
ranching can thrive,” said Debbie
Sareeram, Interim Director of the
California Department of Conservation.
Sareeram presented
the Yolo County Board of Supervisors
with a resolution commending its work –
the Williamson Act Stewardship Award --
today at a news conference.
“One of Yolo County’s
primary goals is to preserve our
agricultural heritage,” said Helen
Thomson, chairwoman of the Board of
Supervisors. “Because of our proximity
to a rapidly growing urban area, that’s
a real challenge. Upholding the
Williamson Act is part of the strategy
that ensures our success, and we
appreciate the state’s recognition for a
job well done.”
Through its Division
of Land Resource Protection, DOC
administers or supports a number of
programs designed to promote orderly
growth in coordination with agricultural
endeavors. That is a critical job, since
the population of California is expected
to grow from its current 38 million to
55 million by 2025, and the need for new
homes will put strain on the nation's
leading agricultural economy, valued at
$33 billion last year.
One of the key tools
available for land conservation planning
is the Williamson Act, which provides
tax incentives for landowners that keep
large tracts of land in agricultural or
open-space use. The law has been widely
credited with discouraging ``leapfrog''
development, and more than 16 million
acres -- half of the state's
agricultural landscape -- are currently
enrolled in Williamson Act contracts.
As of the 2004-05
fiscal year, Yolo County had 418,935
acres of land enrolled in the Williamson
Act, including 241,963 acres of prime
farmland. Yolo County produced more than
$304 million of agricultural products in
2002-03. Another DOC program related to
the Williamson Act -- the California
Farmland Conservancy Program – has
permanently shielded an additional 3,150
acres in Yolo County from development.
“Yolo County has made
a very conscious effort to confine its
growth to developed areas,” said Dennis
O’Bryant, head of the Division of Land
Resource Protection. “The county has had
only three Williamson Act contract
cancellations, and we haven’t had to
take a single action to uphold the Act
in Yolo County, which is rare.”
O’Bryant noted that
Yolo County has its own program for
farmland mitigation, requiring that one
acre of land be permanently set aside
for agriculture for every acre that is
developed.
“We’ve encouraged
counties throughout the state to use
Yolo County’s program as a model,”
O’Bryant said.
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