Food, Farms and Forests
Photo Credit: Justin Bailie
Grown in Oregon.
It’s that bounty of vegetables and meat at the market, the timber for your table or even the seeds for that soft lawn under your toes. They’re grown in Oregon.
From community gardens to family ranches our state’s agricultural lands are the cornerstone of the Oregon’s rural communities and our food systems. These lands are also critical for fish and wildlife habitats and they sustain traditions, preserving a local way of life. There are 16.3 million acres of agricultural lands in Oregon. That’s a landmass larger than the state of West Virginia (and 8 other states, too).
These lands are also largely family-owned—almost 80 percent of Oregon’s principal farm operators own their land (compared to 61 percent nationally). We are at a turning point in Oregon, as two-thirds of our farm and ranch lands will change hands in the next twenty years. COLT member land trusts are hearing from interested farmers and ranchers who want to prevent future fragmentation of their land, keep local ways of life and safeguard the ecological values they steward. Land trusts can support private farm, ranch and forest owners by purchasing conservation easements to protect migratory corridors and habitat of native plants and animals. Easements can be drafted to still allow productive use on private land.
The new Oregon Agriculture Heritage Program is an emerging opportunity to build partnerships between Oregon’s agriculture and conservation communities and address the needs of rural landowners in protecting public values on private farms and ranches.
We are at a turning point in Oregon, as two-thirds of our farm and ranch lands will change hands in the next twenty years.
Why conserve land? Because food.
Forest Legacy Program Inflation Reduction Act Funding FY25
Oregon is home to some of the world’s most productive forests. From the large swaths of Douglas fir in the Coast Range and West Cascades to the tall ponderosa pines of the East Cascades and Blue Mountains, our forests provide critical habitat for wildlife, offer recreation for people, support local economies, protect community drinking water, and enhance our resilience to climate change.
Protecting our forests from fragmentation and conversion is a key strategy to maintaining habitat and mitigating climate change, and the Forest Legacy Program is a critical tool for achieving those outcomes. Funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund and administered in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service, the goal of the Forest Legacy program is to protect private forest lands through conservation easements and land purchases.
FY 2025 Inflation Reduction Funding Round 2
The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) released the FY25 Inflation Reduction Funding application in October of 2024. States can submit up to five (5) projects in each round for funding consideration within the following project types:
- Large Landscape Projects (1): High impact, readiness, and capacity. Supports national goals of climate resilience, carbon sequestration, habitat connectivity, and/or benefits to disadvantaged communities.
- State-Tribal Partnership Projects (1): Support protection of Tribal cultural values, includes and supports meaningful and long-term Tribal partnerships and engagement.
- Strategic Small Tract Projects (3): High strategic value, allows public access, and supports national goals outlined above.
Resources & Additional Information
- ODF Project Application
- Forest Legacy Program Blog
- Forest Legacy IRA Funding
- Forest Legacy General Funding
Applications are due by 5pm December 20, 2024.
Funding Resource Available: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) FY25
In September 2024, the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Oregon announced Fiscal Year 2025 funding available to Oregon’s farmers and ranchers Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) are a program option under ACEP, which provide cost-share financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing perpetual easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. Eligible partners include American Indian tribes, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that have farmland, rangeland, or grassland protection programs.
In FY25, funding is available for General ACEP-ALE projects and for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ACEP-ALE projects. COLT and NRCS-OR Agricultural Land Easement Program Coordinator, Matt Penberthy, hosted a webinar on funding available for FY25 General ACEP-ALE. The presentation featured information on:
- Program context and application timelines
- Eligibility - land, landowner, and entity (easement holder)
- Overview of Ranking Criteria
- How to submit an application
- Resources available to assist
Access the full presentation here: FY25 General ACEP-ALE Workshop
IRA-ACEP-ALE funding is new to Oregon this fiscal year. In addition to meeting General ACEP-ALE program eligibility, projects must satisfy at least one of the following priorities:
- Lands that are classified as grassland or native vegetation (e.g., sagebrush, tall grass prairie) where NRCS has identified a high threat of conversion to a non-grassland use.
- Cropland or grassland where NRCS has identified a high threat of conversion to non-agricultural use.
COLT and NRCS-OR Agricultural Land Easement Program Coordinator, Matt Penberthy, hosted a webinar on funding available for FY25 IRA-ACEP-ALE. The presentation featured information on:
- The IRA context, program priorities, and application timelines
- Overview of Ranking Criteria
- How to submit an application
- Resources available to assist
Access the full presentation here: FY25 Inflation Reduction Act ACEP-ALE Workshop
More information about IRA-ACEP-ALE is available on the NRCS Oregon webpage.
For questions about this webinar, please contact Matt Penberthy: matt@oregonlandtrusts.org
For general questions about IRA-ACEP-ALE, please contact: NRCS.OR.Easements@usda.gov
Policy Advocacy at Work
Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program provides the structure and funding to keep working lands working, while preserving and enhancing fish and wildlife benefits on these lands.
C2 Ranch. Photo Credit: Thomas Kirchen
Photo Credit: Jay Barlow
Wolfe Ranch
Members at Work
The Conservation Fund helped create Oregon’s newest state forest by partnering with the Oregon Department of Forestry to purchase Gilchrist Forest in Klamath County.
Gilchrist State Forest Aerial View
Photo by Justin Bailie
Lower Nehalem Community Trust. Alder Creek garden
On the North Coast, the Lower Nehalem Community Trust’s Alder Creek Farm, a local community farm, provides over a ton (literally) of produce each year to the local food bank.
