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The California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and the California Department of Conservation (Department) have announced the release of Round 10 of the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC). SGC anticipates approximately $91 million in funding will be available for funding for competitive awards in Round 10, pending final funding availability from FY2023-2024 Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds.

What is SALC?

SALC is part of the California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities. The goals of SALC are to:

• Protect agricultural lands that support infill and compact development
• Contribute to carbon neutrality
• Support sustainable land management
• Support coordinated land use planning
• Support Executive Order N-82-20 by:
  • Safeguarding the State’s economic sustainability and food security;
  • Protecting biodiversity;
  • Enabling enduring conservation measures on working lands, in partnership with land managers and natural resource user groups;
  • Building climate resilience, reducing risk from extreme climate events, and contributing to the State’s effort to combat climate change; and
  • Advancing equity and opportunity for all regions of California.  

What are the investment types?

Grant amounts, durations, and eligibility vary by investment type. SALC reserves the right to require match for any project based upon the characteristics of the property and/or project. The three investment types available are as follows:

Agricultural Conservation Capacity and Project Development – Grants to develop agricultural conservation easement and fee acquisition projects and/or cover associated costs to help close acquisition projects where the cost of the acquisition is covered by an alternate source of funding.

• SGC may award approximately 5 percent of available funds for agricultural conservation acquisition capacity and project development grants (capacity grants).
• Tier 1: Grants of up to $100,000 are available to applicants to build organizational and financial capacity to develop agricultural conservation acquisition projects.
• Tier 2: Grants of up to $250,000 are available to applicants to expand existing organizational capacity to develop agricultural conservation acquisition projects and develop agricultural acquisition projects. These grants are available to applicants who can demonstrate the organizational and fiscal capacity to complete the work outlined in their work plan.
• Capacity grants will be awarded for an initial term of three years.
• Eligible applicants include cities, counties, non-profit organizations, resource conservation districts, regional park or open-space districts, regional park or open-space authorities, and Native American tribes. Additional eligibility requirements can be found in the Grant Guidelines.
• Capacity grant applications are due July 3, 2025.

Agricultural Conservation Acquisitions – Grants to protect important agricultural lands under threat of conversion to nonagricultural uses through the acquisition of voluntary, permanent agricultural conservation easements (easements) or fee title purchases.

• There is no maximum award for Acquisition grants. There is no minimum project size.
• Cities, counties, non-profit organizations, resource conservation districts, regional park or open-space districts, regional park or open-space authorities, and Federally recognized California Native American tribes or non-Federally recognized California Native American tribes on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), are eligible to apply for funding.
• Applicants must identify all existing or potential match funders in their preproposals and applications. In no case shall the SALC contribution to the purchase price exceed ninety percent (90%) of the appraised easement value, except if the project met the requirements for reduced match at the time of award as specified in the Grant Guidelines.
• Acquisition Pre-proposals are due January 31, 2025 with full proposals due July 3, 2025.

Agricultural Conservation Planning – Grants to develop and implement plans for the protection of agricultural lands under pressure of being converted to non-agricultural uses.

• Planning Grants have a $500,000 maximum grant award.
• The application must include a minimum ten percent (10%) match funding, unless they can demonstrated that the project will provide meaningful benefits to a priority population as defined in the Grant Guidelines.
• Counties, cities, local area formation commissions (LAFCOs), councils of government, municipal planning organizations, regional transportation planning agencies, groundwater sustainability agencies, special districts with land use or transportation planning authority, and Federally recognized California Native American tribe or a non-Federally recognized California Native American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission are eligible to apply.
• Planning pre-proposals are due January 31, 2025 with full applications due July 3, 2025.

The full SALC Guidelines can be found here.

For more information on these grants or how to apply with Morrison’s assistance, please contact the Morrison Grants Team by email at grants@morrisonco.net or call us at 530-893-4764.