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California Farmland Conservancy Program


Administrating Agency: Resources Agency
Bond: Proposition 84
Department Name: Department of Conservation
Bond Statute: 75055(d)(3)
Implementing Statute: Public Resources Code; Division 10.2

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The Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) is a competitive grant program created by statute in 1995 and codified as Division 10.2 of the Public Resources Code. The program is administered within the Division of Land Resource Protection. The CFCP enabling legislation defines specific eligibility and selection criteria by which grant applications are to be developed, submitted and reviewed by the Department. Eligible applicants are also defined by statute. The CFCP has an established Request for Grant Applications (RFGA) posted to the Department of Conservation website that is updated as needed. The website provides grant applicants with many resources for preparing and submitting grant applications in a standardized format. Application and other information is also disseminated through a quarterly e-newsletter prepared by the CFCP. The enabling legislation requires applicants, in addition to standard application information, to provide public notice of the proposed easement acquisition, as well as neighboring landowner notification. In addition, applicants are required to obtain local government resolutions of support for the easement acquisitions. Proposition 84 funds will be requested for this program in the 2008/09 Governor’s Proposed Budget.

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Projects will be selected for funding under the California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) after completion of the rulemaking process and adoption of a formal Request for Grant Applications. All grantees will be required to spend grant funds according to the approved project scope, implementation schedule, and budget detailed in individual grants. The Department of Conservation (DOC) works with landowners, local governments, and non-profit land trusts to conserve productive farmland and diverse open spaces. The grants will likely be multi-year, staged grants in many cases, with deliverables requiring significant time to produce. DOC proposes to commit the grant funds over the first three years, with one additional year required to administer the completion of all grants.

DOC’s CFCP has established protocols for grant administration, and it is expected that this experience will yield crossover benefits and efficiencies in administering the proposed planning grants. DOC will review grants and make recommendations, track and manage planning grants. Outcome reports for funded projects will be done on an annual or more frequent basis in the form of project status reports to other state agencies, such as the Department of Finance, as well on the DOC website. All projects are subject to audit by the Department, at both the grantee and DOC levels.

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Projects funded by the Department of Conservation’s California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) will be administered through the terms and conditions defined within a specific Request for Grant Applications. Final grant payments will be based upon submission of final reports and satisfactory completion of specified grant terms, with appropriate documentation of all costs incurred. All grants will be subject to audit by the Department of Finance. All grantees must comply with all current laws and regulations which apply to the project and submit documents summarizing total project costs and all additional funding sources.


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