Two West Marin ranches recently reached an agreement with the Marin Agricultural Land Trust that guarantees protection of almost 1000 acres of agricultural land in the West Marin area. In exchange for $1 million apiece, the 750 acre Poncia Ranch and the 243 acre Tomales Farm and Dairy granted conservation easements to MALT, a member supported, nonprofit conservancy group. The easements disallow any nonagricultural development on the ranches.
The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) raised the $2million to buy the development rights from several sources, including the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranchlands Protection program; the San Francisco based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; and the state Coastal Conservancy.
West Marin real estate is diverse, ranging from cozy Stinson Beach cottages, to stylish contemporary homes in Muir Beach, to gracious estates in the Nicasio–Lucas Valley area. The Tomales region, however, has a rich agricultural heritage, which many are eager to preserve by ensuring that working farms and ranches will keep the agrarian traditions alive and well – and keeping land developers at bay.
MALT is a nonprofit organization created by an alliance of ranchers and environmentalists to permanently preserve the farmlands of Marin County. Currently MALT conservation easements total approximately 40,000 acres.
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