The Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC) is soliciting applications from conservation districts for the 2024 Agricultural Conservation Easement Sponsorship (ACES) Program. ACES provides a pathway for conservation districts to access grants made available by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) to permanently protect farmland in their district. 

To submit a project for sponsorship, you must complete the 2024 Application for Agricultural Conservation Easement Sponsorship by 7 PM on February 16, 2024.

Join us for an informational webinar on January 8, 2024, at 11 a.m. Register for Zoom link.

Background:

The Office of Farmland Preservation (OFP) is housed within the SCC and is responsible for activities identified in the OFP statute, RCW 89.10. SCC has identified agricultural conservation easements as an important tool to assist in farmland protection and advancing conservation with willing landowners. RCW 64.04.130 authorizes SCC to acquire and hold an interest in land for farmland conservation purposes.

SCC works with conservation districts to identify and, where appropriate, seek funding to purchase development rights on farmland conveyed as an “agricultural conservation easement.” Agricultural easements prevent conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural uses through a restriction of certain real property rights, including the right to subdivide and develop. 

SCC is an eligible applicant to the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) Farmland category, RCW 79A.15. Conservation districts are not eligible applicants.

Eligible lands for the easement program must be devoted primarily to the production of livestock or agricultural commodities for commercial purposes. If SCC successfully purchases an agricultural conservation easement through WWRP funding, the SCC assumes the legal liability as the primary holder of the real property right.

SCC’s three priorities for consideration of an agricultural conservation easement are:

1. The parcel proposed for preservation is expected to continue to be used for, and is large enough to sustain, commercial agricultural production.
2. The land is also in an area that possesses the necessary market, infrastructure, agricultural support services, and the surrounding parcel sizes and land uses that will support long-term commercial agricultural production.
3. Without preservation, the land proposed for protection is likely to be converted to nonagricultural use in the foreseeable future.

Commitment:

The conservation easement funding and acquisition process is time-intensive. It requires all parties — SCC, conservation district, and landowner(s) to be committed to the project. The conservation district must have a dedicated staff contact responsible for the project. The WWRP grant reimburses for eligible expenses and some staff time if awarded funding. However, the conservation district will be required to cover the staff time not covered by the grant. Notable items that cannot be paid for by the grant are time spent developing the project prior to contract, and overhead expenses for the entirety of the project duration.

Roles and Responsibilities for Application:

The conservation district and SCC will work together through the WWRP application process on projects selected for sponsorship. The conservation district is the expert on the project and the primary contact with the landowner and is responsible for gathering all landowner and property information, photos, letters of support, or other required documents. SCC will submit the application and materials via PRISM.

See the Appendix for more detailed information on the roles and responsibilities if funded and ongoing responsibilities after the easement completion.

How to Apply for Sponsorship:

Review the information on the WWRP Farmland webpage and Manual 10f while paying particular attention to the evaluation criteria on page 37.

If you have a potential project, you are strongly encouraged to reach out early to OFP Specialist, Paul D'Agnolo, via email at pdagnolo@scc.wa.gov or by phone at 564-669-0972, to discuss the project’s viability and the required process.

To submit a project for sponsorship, you must complete the 2024 Application for Agricultural Conservation Easement Sponsorship by February 16, 2024.

Project Selection for SCC Sponsorship:

The OFP Specialist will review sponsorship materials for completeness and for grant eligibility.

The SCC Conservation Easement Sub-Committee (Sub-Committee) consists of:

• the Executive Director or designee of SCC;
• the Executive Director or designee of the Washington Association of Land Trusts;
• the Executive Director or designee of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts;
• the Pacific Northwest Director or designee of the American Farmland Trust;
• Two conservation district supervisors or managers from interested districts, one from east of cascades and one from west of cascades selected by the SCC board at a regular business meeting.

The Sub-Committee will assist in reviewing applications based on ranking developed by SCC staff with input from the Sub-Committee and provide a referral to SCC on whether to proceed.

Selected projects will be presented for authorization for sponsorship at the March 21, 2024, SCC business meeting.

WWRP Application Process:

WWRP is a competitive grant. The Farmland Preservation Advisory Committee ranks projects against established criteria. See the WWRP Farmland webpage for information on the application process.

The milestones in the application and project development process are listed below. This list combines the schedule created by RCO with the schedule created by OFP.

• Applications open for Agricultural Conservation Easement Sponsorship: December 15, 2023
• OFP will host an informative webinar (Registration link here): January 8, 2024, at 11 a.m. 
• RCO will host a webinar (link not yet available): February 14, 2024
• Application deadline for conservation districts to apply to SCC for sponsorship: February 16, 2024
• Agricultural Conservation Easement Sponsorship Sub-Committee convenes to make recommendation to SCC Commissioners on sponsorship: Week of February 26, 2024
• OFP will pursue approval of applications at commission meeting: March 21, 2024. 
• OFP Submits applications in PRISM to WWRP: April 12, 2024.
• RCO's Farmland Advisory Committee Technical Review: May 13 - June 5, 2024
• RCO's Farmland Preservation Advisory Committee project ranking: July 22 - August 13, 2024.
• RCO board approves preliminary ranked list: October 31, 2024
• Legislative session 2024/2025 determines budget. 
• Contracts for successful applications: Summer 2025

Appendix

Roles and Responsibilities if Funded:

If your project is selected for sponsorship and if it is selected for funding through WWRP, SCC and the district will work together on the required due diligence to complete the project. 

SCC will:

1. upon project funding, negotiate with the conservation district roles and responsibilities related to the effective implementation of the project;
2. ensure compliance with acquisition procedures;
3. seek Conservation Commission Commissioner approval to enter Purchase and Sale Agreement and move to closing;
4. review the preliminary title report and submit it to RCO;
5. provide RCO with draft legal documents for review;
6. request direct to escrow payment from RCO;
7. provide escrow instructions to escrow company for payment and recording;
8. obtain title insurance policy;
9. provide RCO a copy of the final title insurance policy;
10. submit baseline documentation to RCO;
11. submit stewardship plan to RCO, if required or needed;
12. facilitate Commission Executive Director signature on easement deed and submittal to escrow;
13. complete the final report in PRISM; and
14. maintain project records.

SCC and Conservation District will:

1. consult and abide by requirements found in RCO Manual 3 Acquisition Projects and Manual 10f Farmland Preservation Category;
2. draft a conservation easement supported by the SCC, conservation district, RCO, and the landowner;
3. work with the landowner to clear any unpermitted exceptions in the title report;
4. review the Appraisal Report;
5. review the Review Appraisal Report;
6. review Baseline Documentation;
7. review Stewardship Plan, if required or needed; and
8. review Environmental Audit, if required or needed.

Conservation District will:

1. prior to incurring expenses for incidentals specified in the budget, contractor will contact OFP staff and receive pre-approval for expenses;
2. solicit Appraisal Report from third-party vendor per RCO guidance;
3. solicit Appraisal Review Report from third-party vendor following RCO guidance;
4. prepare Baseline Documentation per SCC guidance;
5. prepare Stewardship Plan, if needed per RCO requirement;
6. solicit survey from a third-party vendor, if required or needed;
7. solicit environmental audit from a third-party vendor, if required or needed; and
8. work with the landowner to solicit boundary-line adjustment and procure third-party vendors, if required or needed.

Roles and Responsibilities after Easement Closing:

It is also important to note that the conservation easement project is never truly “done.” The conservation easement runs with the land and the restrictions do not expire. SCC has a perpetual obligation to monitor and enforce the easement. Based on available funding, SCC will contract with the conservation district to conduct annual monitoring and ongoing landowner correspondence.