Description:
The Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction program is one of the oldest easement programs in the nation. It is directly operated by state government. Some town governments cost share with the state to purchase easements in their areas and co-hold the easements with the state. Since it was formed in 1977, the program has protected 52,800 agricultural acres on 603 farms, averaging 91 acres per easement. Protected farms grow a wide variety of crops. The program is housed in the Department of Agricultural Resources. The eight-member Agricultural Lands Preservation Committee (ALPC) oversees the program. Members include four state officials: Commissioner of Agriculture, Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Secretary of Community and Development and Chairman of the Board of Food and Agriculture; and four public members appointed by the Governor. The ALPC approves specific easement purchases, and a portion of each landowner's application is submitted to the appropriate town Conservation Commission for review prior to final state action. Field representatives of the state program actively seek landowner applications in the most productive agricultural areas. |