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II. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE. <br />Section 2401 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 authorizes the Secretary <br />of Agriculture to facilitate and provide funding for the purchase conservation easements that <br />are subject to pending offers from eligible State, Tribal or units of local government or <br />nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of protecting the agricultural uses and related <br />conservation values of eligible land by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land. To be eligible, <br />the farm or ranch land must meet one of three criteria: contain prime, unique, or other productive <br />soil; contain historical or archaeological resources; or further a State or local policy consistent <br />with the purposes of the program. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 authorized <br />FRPP funding for fiscal years 2008 through 2012. <br />WHEREAS, Orange County and the United States have mutual interests in preventing <br />the conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses; and <br />WHEREAS, the United States administers the FRPP through NRCS on behalf of the <br />CCC; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County administers a farmland protection program and has a <br />pending offer for acquiring an agricultural conservation easement from landowners within <br />Orange County, and the United States and Orange County have agreed to combine their <br />resources to assure that such areas are protected from conversion to nonagricultural uses. <br />THEREFORE, the parties agree to enter into this Cooperative Agreement. <br />III. BENEFITS <br />The benefit of this Cooperative Agreement is that funds will be provided to the <br />cooperating entity for the protection of farm and ranch lands from conversion to non-agricultural <br />use. Section 2401 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 authorizes the Secretary of <br />Agriculture to provide funding for the purchase conservation easements by eligible State, Tribal <br />or units of local government or nongovernmental organizations. Section 1238I of the Food, <br />Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into <br />agreements with eligible entities. <br />2 <br />