Agricultural Conservation Easements
Protecting agricultural land, one farm at a time!
Oswit Land Trust (OLT) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit land trust based in Palm Springs, California. Formerly known as Save Oswit Canyon, OLT was formed in 2021 to save one of the last unprotected alluvial fans in the Coachella Valley, Oswit Canyon, from being destroyed by development. This ecological treasure is refuge for the endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, fox, bobcats, mountain lions, migratory birds, and other wildlife.
OLT established its first agricultural conservation easement with an 1,800+ acre farm in Imperial County in 2023 and is currently working with the Federal Government and the State of California to help distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to farm owners throughout California to forever preserve their land as agricultural.
You Keep Your Farm
Protect the Environment
Additional Benefits
Interested?
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many programs that offer conservation easement grants. Grant programs provide the funding to OLT to buy the easement on the farm property. These programs require completion of a competitive application process which OLT works closely with the farm owner to obtain.
One source is through the state of California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund which supports the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program. Part of this program’s goal is to provide funds to California farm owners through the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) program, which focuses on properties that are at risk of being developed for non-agricultural uses and that have existing environmental significance. The California Civil Code states that the preservation of land in its natural, scenic, agricultural, historical, forested, or open-space condition is among the most important environmental assets of California.
Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC)
The farm owner can also donate the easement to OLT, which may have certain tax advantages.
Oswit Land Trust is a 501c3 nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to preserving critical habitat for wildlife corridors, sensitive species, and agricultural land. We achieve our goals through the acquisition of land, conservation easements, and advocacy. We are a proud member of the Land Trust Alliance.
Contact Oswit Land Trust: Reach out to OLT to discuss your goals and see if your farm qualifies for a conservation easement.
Appraisal & Negotiation: OLT works with you and appraisers to determine the value of your development rights. Together, you negotiate the terms of the easement.
Grant Funding: OLT facilitates the application process for funding from various Federal and State programs, including California’s SALC program.
Agreement & Monitoring: Once approved, you sign a legal agreement with OLT outlining the easement restrictions. OLT conducts periodic monitoring on at least an annual basis to ensure compliance.
Success Stories
Alphabet Farms Ranch - A
Imperial County, CA
Alphabet Farms Ranch – A is 1,888 acres of productive farmland in Imperial County, CA. With Oswit Land Trust holding the agricultural conservation easement (ACE) the land is protected from destruction and development in perpetuity. This is Oswit Land Trust first conservation easement and our first conservation project of agricultural land. This is a joint project of Oswit Land Trust and Trust for Public Land.
"The property is in Audubon’s Imperial Valley Globally Important Bird Area (IBA), the largest IBA in California and the nearby Salton Sea is one of the most important nesting sites and stopovers along the Pacific Flyway."
The property is in Audubon’s Imperial Valley Globally Important Bird Area (IBA), the largest IBA in California and the nearby Salton Sea is one of the most important nesting sites and stopovers along the Pacific Flyway. The irrigation canals that crisscross Imperial Valley and border parcels of Ranch A are classified as riverine wetlands and provide important habitat. Burrowing owls (CA Species of Special Concern), Yuma clapper rails (federally endangered), and California black rails (CA threatened species) are known to use these canals. Dozens of birds including several species of raptor and the charismatic sandhill cranes were seen taking advantage of the unique resources provided by the agricultural lands.
Alphabet Farms Ranch - F
Imperial County, CA
Alphabet Farms Ranch F is Oswit Land Trust’s second agricultural conservation easement in Imperial County, CA, consisting of roughly 4,400 acres of productive farmland. This additional easement expands OLT’s stewardship of agricultural land to over 6,300 acres, and protects this precious farmland from future development in perpetuity. Oswit Land Trust’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Division had its official launch in the spring of 2024 and is working to help distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to farmers in California to save and protect farmland from development and the rapid spread of urban sprawl.
The United States loses roughly 150 acres of natural land and 40 acres of farmland every hour. Eastern Riverside and Imperial Counties are specifically at extremely high risk of overdevelopment. The agricultural conservation easements on these portions of Alphabet Farms land will help mitigate development threats and promote the preservation of agriculture, support native wildlife, and enhance national and global food security.
"We are very excited at Oswit Land Trust because we can support farming and food security, advance state agricultural, conservation, and climate goals, and provide immediate benefits to farm owners in California through agricultural conservation easements. Our farm owner partners who agree to establish easements on their property will receive a significant payment for the easement while maintaining ownership of their property in perpetuity – and while supporting the farm economy by ensuring land stays in agricultural production. Farm owners have the flexibility in the future to pass their land down to their family, or even sell the property, while still retaining the benefit of the financial payment for the easement,"
The Imperial Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S. It produces high-quality forage and seed crops that feed Americans and the world, and it provides two-thirds of the winter produce which feeds the U.S. and Canada. Protecting farms and ranches in the area will help retain jobs and local tax revenue, keeping agriculture strong in a region where one out of six jobs are supported by agriculture.
Funds for the Alphabet Farms Ranch F easement were made available through the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program in collaboration with the Department of Conservation. SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities. Separately, the U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program funded the acquisition of a Restrictive Use Easement (RUE) on the property. The RUE is being managed by the Navy through Naval Air Facility – El Centro.
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