NRCS and the Civil War Preservation Trust Preserve Farmland

Program or Category: Farmland Protection Program (FPP)

Overview: NRCS in West Virginia recently signed as accepting the "Deed of Conservation Easement" on the Shannon and Rene Donley property near Moler’s Crossroads, Jefferson County, WV. The NRCS provided $132,000 of Farm and Ranchland Protection Program Funds that helped purchase the easement which was valued at $539,000. The balance of the funding came from the Civil War Preservation Trust and the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Program and the easement was Co-held by the Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle and the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board. The Civil War Preservation Trust provided funding since the land would be preserved in farmland in perpetuity and the farm was the historic advance route of Confederate troops to the battle at Antietam, MD during the Civil War.

Accomplishments: The easement permanently protects 90 acres of land as farmland.

Program Benefits to Landowner: The FPP provides a means for farmers to keep their land in farmland despite land use pressures from development. FPP keeps land available for production and infuses cash into current operations. The landowner retains all other rights to the land and may improve his tax position or prepare well for his heirs.

Program Benefits to Community: FPP helps to maintain an adequate amount of farmland to produce the nation's food and fiber as well as helps to preserve green space around urbanizing areas. The goal of the program is to protect between 170,000 and 340,000 acres of farmland. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been designated as the lead agency in implementing this program. The county and the state continue to expand the voluntary farmland protection program. Currently 10 counties have developed programs and have begun to take applications for their local programs. NRCS has partnered with the land trusts in the state and the counties and has obligated over $2.9 million of FRPP funds to secure easements with a value of over $6.2 million.

Contact Information:

Acting for Lillian V. Woods, State Conservationist, Stephen G. Carpenter (right) signs the “Acceptance of Property Interest for NRCS. Also pictured are James Keel, President, The Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle, Roger Dailey, Executive Director, the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board, John Skinner, Attorney for the Closing, and Shannon Donley, farmer participant in the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.
 

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