Agricultural Open Space Testimony

August 19, 2003

TO:  Open Space Committee and Other Members, Northampton County Council

The provision for use of the County’s Open Space Bond Funds for Agricultural Open Space requires a strategy that complements the Council’s efforts to preserve Open Space for preservation of environmentally sensitive areas and for the provision of parks and recreational areas.

The County’s prior programs to preserve agricultural areas were substantially shaped by the single criterion of soil quality.  By utilizing this criterion, the County was able to get matching funds from the state, effectively doubling the amount of money for this purpose, and thus increasing the amount of agricultural land to be preserved.

We suggest use of a somewhat different strategy for the use of Open Space bond funds because the thrust of the effort is the acquisition of lands and easements that optimize the amount of land preserved, consistent with the other goals of the program.  Specifically, we recommend that half of the money designated for agricultural preservation be utilized as in the past  (that is, emphasis on soil quality) and eligible for state matching funds. The other half will be used for agricultural preservation that gives much greater weight to other criteria, while still including a soil quality component.  There may be other different matching funds from state and federal sources, but the emphasis on this portion of the program is preserving agricultural land that complements the other components of the Open Space bond fund.

Some of the criteria that might be utilized in evaluating this land include:

• Proximity to headwaters and first three miles of streams of high quality
• Proximity to high quality stream banks beyond the first three miles
• Proximity to large forested areas or land between large forested areas
• Proximity to identified environmental significant areas (such as wetlands)
• Existence of significant forested areas on the property
• Enhancement of agricultural socio-economic considerations to increase the viability of the agricultural sector
• Soil quality

The farms protected by easements under these criteria should be required to utilize agricultural best management practices, verified by county inspections.

We think this dual approach of emphasizing soil quality (50%) and environmental considerations (50%) will better achieve the County’s goal of an effective Open Space  program than reliance on soil quality alone.  

Respectfully submitted,

David K. McGuire, Ph.D.
Issues Coordinator

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