Placer Land Trust protects 595 acres of Lincoln farmland

Placer Land Trust and its partners have permanently protected Lincoln 595 Ranch, a large working rice and almond orchard ranch in western Placer County. To ensure this 595-acre property remains forever protected for agriculture, Placer Land Trust purchased and recorded an Agricultural Conservation Easement from the landowners, AKT Investments, Inc. The conservation easement permanently protects the property from subdivision and development while allowing the landowners to continue their agricultural operations. "As farmers in the Sacramento Valley, we are pleased to partner with Placer Land Trust and the State of California to ensure this property is farmed into the future," said Angelo Tsakopoulos, president and CEO of AKT Investments, Inc. AKT Investments and its partners farm several thousand acres in Placer County, including rice, almonds, walnuts and cattle grazing. Lincoln 595 Ranch is leased by several farmers who grow almonds and organic rice on the property. "Our agricultural lands are very attractive from a development standpoint, but the real value of these lands is food production by local farmers and ranchers," said Placer Land Trust Executive Director Jeff Darlington. "It's great when we can provide conservation funding to local landowners who are willing to permanently protect their productive agricultural lands." Placer County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in California, and the growth in and around the city of Lincoln has been particularly explosive, with hundreds of acres of farmland being converted to development every year. An agricultural conservation easement allows the landowners to realize some of the value that would have come from selling for development while keeping their land in agricultural production. The rice land also serves as important habitat for migratory birds who use the seasonally flooded fields along with nearby wetlands as critical feeding and breeding areas. Lincoln 595 Ranch contains a stretch of Markham Ravine, which flows west off the ranch directly onto a 206-acre restored historic vernal pool complex, forming an 801-acre block of protected land with significant wetland habitat. The majority of the funds for the Lincoln 595 Ranch project were made available through the State of California Strategic Growth Council's Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) 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. The state funds were supplemented by funding from Placer County's Placer Legacy Open Space and Agricultural Conservation Program. The landowners also generously discounted the sales price and contributed a significant donation to Placer Land Trust to complete the project and ensure the permanent protection of the property. The agricultural conservation easement has been recorded on title in the official records of Placer County. The conservation easement is permanent and runs with title to the land, meaning any future landowners will be prohibited from subdividing and developing the property, except for a provision to allow limited farmworker housing.