Newsletters

Fall 2001
GOT TIME? Become a MALT Volunteer
Development or Farmland?
Stewardship Coordinator Joins Team
One Brief, Shining Art Show
Russell Chatham Lithographs
The Campaign to Save Marin's Farmland—Nearing Our Goal!


GOT TIME? Become a MALT Volunteer

What do a sheep rancher, a technical writer, a retired administrator, and an organic vegetable farmer all have in common? They won't show up on our annual financial report, but as volunteers who play a vital, often behind-the-scenes role for MALT, each one is a true hidden asset. Under the wings of Education Director Constance Washburn, a core group of 30 volunteers facilitate our popular Hikes & Tours program. Many occasional volunteers staff events, showcase our traveling display booth, and take up hammers and screwdrivers when the need arises.

Integral to our Hikes & Tours events are the ranchers and farmers who take time out of a 365-day-a-year job to host the ranch tours. Both Bolinas organic farmer Peter Martinelli and Tomales sheep rancher and founding MALT board member Al Poncia believe fervently in the heritage of family farms and want to expose others to their way of life. Al enjoys describing life on the farm that's been in his family for four generations. Peter, whose uncle Rod Martinelli was also one of the founding directors of MALT, demonstrates alternative uses he makes of the land producing organic produce.

A network of folks lends support to MALT in other capacities, as well. At the annual Ranches & Rolling Hills Art Show, volunteers install and take down the art displays, greet the arriving public, handle sales, and perform numerous other tasks at this important fundraiser.

Harvest Day at the Farm, held each year in October at Nicasio Valley Farms, involves the help of even more people. Food purveyors, musicians, horse handlers, and ranchers all donate food, time, and talent to ensure the affair is a success. At the increasingly popular Taste of Marin, a local restaurant graciously provides space for growers and producers to serve up samples from their harvests.

Volunteers staff the MALT booth at farmers markets and other venues to promote public awareness about local agriculture. Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis clubs request speakers to talk to their members about farmland preservation issues, and MALT Don Seitas volunteer fills those requests.

And there's more. MALT's governing Board of Directors, drawn from both the ranching and non-ranching communities, is actively involved in setting policy, decision-making, and fundraising. In addition, they also host ranch tours, write articles for the newsletter, and serve as representatives of the organization in their own communities. Why would someone expend the effort in this way? Al Poncia's son Loren continued the family tradition of serving MALT when he recently joined our board. Chris Kelly, a land conservation consultant from Larkspur, grew up in Lucas Valley and Marinwood. He felt motivated to serve after seeing nearby farmland gobbled up for development, and he says he's gained a whole new appreciation of the pressures faced by those individuals who make a living from the land.

And more: skilled professionals provided pro-bono development of our new web site (see below).

The Capital Campaign receives a boost when members open their homes to host fundraising events and encourage their friends and colleagues to contribute. And, of course, there is always envelope stuffing and database entry that needs doing back at the office.

All of these activities call for more people-hours than the MALT staff and the operational budget can supply. So our dedicated volunteers jump into action when we sound the "Help!" alarm. They have become indispensable to MALT's continuing success.

As MALT's outreach program grows, so will the demand for more volunteers. A new Volunteer Coordinator, Leah Smith, joins the staff next month to work with Constance to oversee the program. Got time? Contact Leah or Constance, 415-663-1338, or cwashburn@malt.org.

—Cindy Jordan, MALT volunteer

Back to Top

Development or Farmland?

A drive through California's central valley during the growing season provides an impressive look at what is arguably the best farmland in the world. Cabbages, tomatoes, cantaloupe, onions, peaches, walnuts, pears, garlic, cotton, corn, oranges, and olives are just some of the crops harvested there. But the state's traditional farmland is being lost at the rate of 50,000 acres a year and converted to urban uses, most of it in the central valley.

In a talk presented to MALT members and friends last spring, American Farmland Trust President Ralph Grossi noted that this land loss is not due to population increases but to population distribution. We are consuming agricultural lands at a rate that is two-and-one-half times greater than population growth,he said. The best farmland is being replaced with large lot, single-family subdivisions.

Marin County faces similar issues. In the past several years, non-agricultural buyers have purchased a number of ranch properties here. On some of these, development is being proposed that raises troublesome and complicated issues regarding the effects on agriculture and the application of county general plan policies, agricultural zoning code provisions, and Williamson Act contract provisions.

These projects have the potential to profoundly affect the future of agriculture in Marin by: allowing non-agricultural residential development in agricultural areas; taking farmland out of production; allowing development of large home and accessory residential improvements that are unrelated to agriculture; establishing precedents for new, non-agricultural land uses that will compete in the real estate market with agricultural land uses; and taking resources, such as water, away from agriculture or pre-empting their availability to agriculture in the future.

Over the last 21 years, MALT has acquired 45 agricultural easements on more than 30,000 acres in Marin County making it the oldest, and one of the largest, agricultural land trusts in the country. (Nationally, there are now 19 state-level Purchase-of-Development-Rights programs that have protected 650,000 acres of land, in addition to that protected by private organizations like MALT.) In spite of this success, the future of agriculture here remains threatened. Escalating land values and luxury home development often prevent agricultural buyers from purchasing land ideally suited for agriculture.

MALT and others supportive of agriculture in West Marin have to remain alert and creative in their efforts to ensure the 150-year-old farming and ranching tradition is not lost forever. It will be crucial to monitor the effects or potential effects of proposed projects on long-term agricultural policies in Marin County. For more information on this issue, contact Executive Director Robert Berner at 415-663-1158 or rberner@malt.org.

Purchase of Development Rights:
Full ownership of real property, often called fee-simple ownership, consists of a bundle of rights, such as the right to farm, to construct buildings, to subdivide the land, to extract minerals, or restrict access. The right to build is known as the development right. In West Marin, A-60 zoning allows one dwelling unit for every 60 acres of agricultural land. So for example, a property owner with a 600-acre parcel has 10 development rights. If MALT purchased a conservation easement on that property, 9 out of 10 of these development rights would be extinguished. Legal restrictions regarding the amount and type of development given up are described in a conservation easement which is recorded by the county and becomes a permanent part of the title. Subsequent owners are subject to the easement terms. While the easement restricts future development on the property, landowners continue to have complete control over public access and all activities related to agriculture on their property.

Williamson Act:
The Land Conservation or Williamson Act was developed in 1965 in response to rapid conversion of agricultural lands into housing developments and commercial enterprises in post-World War II California. An agricultural property owner enters into a contract with the county to restrict land use to agriculture for a period of not less than 10 years. The landowner is taxed on the agricultural value of the land, as opposed to market value of the property. Local governments receive partial reimbursement of lost property tax revenues from the state under the Open Space Act of 1971. In 1998 the Williamson Act was amended to provide for the establishment of Farmland Security Zones. Landowners receive an additional 35 percent reduction in the lands value for tax purposes for a commitment to the program for 20 years.

Back to Top

Stewardship Coordinator Joins Team

When MALT acquires an agricultural conservation easement, it also takes on a obligation to ensure the land is used and managed in a way that is consistent with the terms of our agreement. This is accomplished through our Stewardship Program. In May, Tony Nelson joined MALT as Stewardship Coordinator. He will be responsible for compiling baseline reports on new projects to establish a benchmark for his subsequent monitoring visits by documenting the condition of the property at the time of the easement sale. Along with Easement Coordinator Susan Kester, he will also offer ranchers information and resources on erosion control, water quality improvement, and other programs that can benefit their operations. A former project manager for The Nature Conservancy, Tony has a masters degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Arizona. He can be reached at 415-663-1158 or tnelson@malt.org.

Back to Top

One Brief, Shining Art Show

John Fiori has been watching us set up and prepare for the Ranches & Rolling Hills landscape art show each year since we first asked him if we could hold the event at the Nicasio Druid's Hall in 1998. The white stucco building is plain and unassuming and, besides the monthly meetings of the Druid's Nicasio Grove No. 42, it is mainly used for community get-togethers and events such as the Palm Sunday pancake breakfast. With its curved ceiling and neon-lit bar signs, it seemed an unlikely setting for an art show celebrating Marin's ranches and rolling hills.

But the Druids decided to take a chance on us. As the manager of the facility, John watched us bring in painted flats to use as walls, hang lights from the support beams, and install breathtaking paintings of West Marin. He shook his head at the transformation. "It doesn't look like the same place," he said.

Before that first event, none of us would have guessed that the show would turn into the successful fundraiser it has become. For the fourth year in a row, Ranches & Rolling Hills has made a significant contribution to MALT's easement program. This year sales topped $126,300. Of that, $65,600 was earmarked for MALT by the participating artists, making the total raised in the show's first four years over one quarter of a million dollars.

As meaningful as the money is, the art show is important for other reasons, too. Under the direction of curator Michael Whitt, the guidance of artist Ray Strong, the vision of show designer and painter Arturo Tello, the coordination by MALT's Elisabeth Ptak, and the talent of all the participating artists, the exhibit and sale has turned into an annual event that has become a small legend among artists, art lovers, and everybody in between.

"I told my wife you'd never know anyone had been here," John Fiori said recently. It's true that we do a good job of cleaning up afterwards, and he really appreciates that, but he may have meant something more. Like magic, the annual two-day art show exists only briefly in real time, but the memory of it stays in our hearts forever.

Back to Top

Russell Chatham Lithographs

Internationally known painter and lithographer Russell Chatham now lives on an old homestead at the head of Deep Creek, eight miles outside of Livingston, Montana, but he is a former Marin County resident. Born in San Francisco in 1939, he lived in the Bay Area until 1972 including, for a time, an apartment in the back of the Nicasio Druids Hall. Marin continues to be a source of great inspiration to him, and he cares very deeply about preserving the landscape he has so often painted and written about.

Russ participated for the first time this year in Ranches & Rolling Hills. He has now made available additional copies of the unframed lithographs that were displayed at the show, and he has generously directed that 100% of the proceeds will go to MALT's agricultural conservation easement program.
Summer on Marshall Ridge($300), In the Fog on Mount Tamalpais ($300), and Still Evening on Tomales Bay($600) may be viewed and purchased on our new website, www.malt.org. For further information, contact art show coordinator Elisabeth Ptak at 415-663-1158 or eptak@malt.org.

Back to Top

The Campaign to Save Marin's Farmland—Nearing Our Goal!

Thanks to special contributions from more than 400 MALT members, the Campaign to Save Marin's Farmland has now raised nearly $4.9 million in gifts and pledges toward a goal of $5 million from private sources.

The campaign began in 1999, with the first year-and-a-half devoted to acquiring advance gifts to build the initiatives momentum. By May 2001, we had received over $4 million from 200 lead donors. In a letter to members, MALT Chair Ellen Straus then invited all MALT members to make an extraordinary contribution to assist us in acquiring additional conservation easements.

"I am certain of one thing," wrote Ellen. "If we do not act now to protect the farmland that we have in our care, we will have no say later in what happens to it. Once farmland is gone, it's gone forever."

The response to Ellen's letter has been wonderful, with more than 200 people sending a total of over $60,000. Why have people responded so enthusiastically to this campaign? From donors' comments so far, it appears people are deeply interested in:

• preserving farmland and the tradition of farming in
  Marin (especially if they have had a personal experience
• of having seen farmland lost forever somewhere else)
• ensuring a continuing supply of Marin agricultural products (milk, cheese, organic produce)
• protecting open space so close to home
• guaranteeing that their children and grandchildren will enjoy this remarkable resource
  

Vehicle Donation Sought
To monitor existing easements and assess potential easement projects, MALT needs a vehicle that can safely travel off-road sites. If you can help by donating a 4-wheel-drive vehicle in good condition, without too many miles on it, please contact Tony Nelson at 415-663-1158 or tnelson@malt.org.

Back to Top

Home | Site Map | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy