What Your Dollars Do

Member Group Spotlight: Marin Agricultural Land Trust

(Above: Photo courtesy of Paige Green)

For more than 30 years, Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) has preserved a living rural landscape next to one of the most heavily populated areas in the country. In the hills of Marin County, we have farms instead of freeways, where nourishing food is produced every day of the year, wildlife flourishes, and local farmers and ranchers like the Poncia family earn their living.

Stemple Creek Ranch has been in the Poncia family since the early 1900s. You’ll find it nestled in the rolling hills along Highway 1 over by Tomales. And you’ll see their grass-fed beef and lamb at local butcher shops and grocery stores.

Like many farming families, Al Poncia and his son Loren faced losing the ranch when they inherited it. To keep it, they had to pay nearly $1 million in inheritance tax—calculated by the market value for residential development rather than for agriculture. This amount is beyond most small businesses, and Al and Loren were forced to consider selling the ranch they love.

MALT stepped in because we knew how important Stemple Creek Ranch is for our Bay Area community. It’s managed in a way that is beneficial for the land, wildlife and livestock. In fact, Al received a national Rancher of the Year award for his tireless work promoting water quality on Marin’s ranches. Listening to Loren talk about the grasses and soil on his ranch is inspiring. The Poncias prove that you don’t have to choose between feeding people and taking care of the environment. Losing their ranch would have been a tragedy for the entire community.

The average per acre cost of purchasing a conservation easement in Marin is $2,500.  However, through the efficiency of MALT’s public-private funding model, each dollar of privately–raised funds was matched by public agency grants.  As of June 2013, Stemple Creek is now preserved forever, empowering Loren and his family to look to the future.

“There are continual trials and tribulations with a ranch business. It’s hard work,” says Loren. “But we are passionate about the land. Protecting it is a huge commitment for our future. I don’t want this to end with me. I want the next generation to be excited about coming back home to the ranch.”

But MALT is not just preserving farmland for the families who farm it. This land produces our food and provides the rolling hills and scenic vistas that are essential to the Bay Area’s very character and quality of life.

Our members have protected more than 46,000 acres of farmland since MALT’s founding. Next year, we hope to preserve another 3,000 acres on three critical properties. Endangered species, a bountiful organic produce farm, critical pastureland for cattle and sheep, and the livelihood of three passionate farming families are at stake. 

But with the support of our community, we can do it.  MALT members don’t just hope that places like Marin stay as they are. They do something positive and powerful to preserve the land they love.

For more information on MALT’s upcoming projects, please visit www.malt.org.

Farms Need Friends

Can you imagine what this country would look like if every farming community had friends like you? Take a peek below at the beautiful and productive farmland that MALT helped preserve in 2013.

Farms Need Friends from Marin Agricultural Land Trust on Vimeo.