Vermont Housing Conservation Board 2005 - Vermont Housing and ...

documents. But an applicant’s enthusiasm
and knowledge of the parcel often
carry the day by virtue of their vision
and passion.
Where an entity of modest imagination
might have seen 17 acres straddling
the Middlebury-Weybridge town line as
either house lots or conservation lands,
the diminutive Middlebury Area Land
Trust took on the enormous endeavor of
serving both goals, and including an affordable
housing component. The Cross
Vermont Trail Association hopes to link
a chain of parcels creating a path across
Vermont from Lake Champlain to the
Connecticut River. The Nature Conservancy
has invested countless hours in
defining their vision of conservation in
Vermont’s most heavily endowed areas
of biological richness. And, town after
town is picking up the colossal challenge
of restoring the architectural landmarks
erected decades ago — thereby linking
a vision of the past with a vision for the
future.
These, and more, are the stories of
conservation in the pages that follow.
They record our progress and inspire us
to further action through imagination
and foresight. Our children’s children
cannot help but appreciate the gesture.
Mallory Brook Land, East Montpelier.
489 acres conserved by the Trust for
Public Lands.
Vermont Farmland Conservation Program
Since 1987, VHCB’s Farmland Conservation Program — in partnership
with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets,
and nonprofi t conservation organizations such as the Vermont
Land Trust and the Upper Valley Land Trust — has conserved over
113,000 acres on more than 390 farms. Private support from the
Freeman Foundation and the Merck Fund have provided for the
conservation of more than 140 additional farms.
Through the purchase of permanent conservation easements, the
Farmland Conservation Program protects working farmland with
good agricultural soils in strong farming communities where agriculture
is likely to remain viable. Farmers use proceeds from the sale
of development rights to modernize facilities, fi nance new farm enterprises,
buy additional farmland, or to transfer conserved farmland
to the next generation of farmers at an affordable price.
While dairy farming remains the backbone of Vermont’s agricultural
industry, interest in diversifi cation, direct marketing, and
transitioning to organic continues to intensify, with many farmers
seeking assistance through the Farm Viability Enhancement Program
described on page 26.
The Farmland Conservation Program operates on a willing buyer/
willing seller basis, with appraisals determining the price that is paid
for an agricultural conservation easement. In order to keep conserved
farmland in the hands of working farmers, since 2003 VHCB
has offered farmers the choice to sell an “Option to Purchase at
Agricultural Value.” Farmers who decide to include the Affordability
Option in the easement are compensated additionally if they agree
to restrict the future sales price of the conserved land to its agricultural
value. Among the 19 farms conserved this past fiscal year, 12
farmers agreed to include the Option.
In 2005 Vermont was awarded $3 million in federal funding
through the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program administered
by the Natural Resource Conservation Service. State funds committed
by VHCB for the Farmland Conservation Program are matched
by these federal funds which cover up to 50% of the easement cost
on each farm project, leveraging the state’s investment to conserve
Vermont’s most productive farmland.
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