Protecting farmland in Marin – forever
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) is a member-supported nonprofit organization created in 1980 by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists to preserve farmland in Marin County.
MALT pioneered the use of agricultural conservation easements as a way to protect the land from nonagricultural development, permanently. These conservation partnerships with landowners enable ranching and farming families to meet financial challenges without having to sell, divide or develop their property.
When MALT acquires a conservation easement, our Stewardship Program works to ensure that the land is managed in a way that is consistent with the terms of our agreement, even when protected properties pass to new owners.
It has been a huge success. With financial support from individuals, public agencies and private foundations, MALT has protected more than 40% of Marin's family farms and ranchland.
But there's a lot more work to do. 60,000 acres of Marin farmland are still at risk.
We gratefully acknowledge The ESRI Conservation Program - Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), publishers of ArcGIS software for their generous software grant to MALT.
