USDA PROVIDES MORE THAN $2 Million TO PROTECT VERMONT’S FARM LANDS

Colchester……State Conservationist Judy Doerner of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service today announced the availability of $2,481,564 to protect agricultural land in Vermont through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) in fiscal year 2007.

"Preserving Vermont’s agricultural lands helps combat urban sprawl and the waste of energy and resources that accompanies sprawling development", said Doerner. "Once protected by conservation easements, this land will be shielded from development pressure.”

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking proposals from state and local governments and non-governmental organizations interested in working together to acquire conservation easements on farms. Proposals are to be submitted in hard copy format, either by hand delivery, express mail, or overnight courier service. The NRCS State Office must receive proposals by 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 27, 2007. A proposal’s postmark date is not a factor in whether an application is received on time. NRCS is expected to announce final project selections in June. Requests for Proposals can be found at

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13031&mode=VIEW

FRPP protects productive agricultural land by purchasing conservation easements to limit conversion of farm lands to non-agricultural uses. USDA partners with state or local governments and non-government organizations to acquire conservation easements from landowners. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement in this voluntary program. State and local entities can match that amount, including the use of landowner donations.

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Eligible farms must have the following components:

--contain productive soils or historic or archaeological sites; --be part of a pending offer from a non-governmental organization, state, or local farmland protection program; --be privately owned; --covered by a conservation plan; --large enough to sustain agricultural production; --accessible to markets for what the land produces; and --surrounded by parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production.

For more information contact Vicky Drew, assistant state conservationist, Vermont State Office, 356 Mountain View Drive, Colchester, VT 05446; (802) 951-7695 or e-mail, Vicky.Drew@vt.usda.gov.

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