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16 Page 2 farmland preservation report July - August 2001 Most counties retain rankings; some log impressive gains continued from page 1 To help boost participation the county raised its per -acre cost cap from $6600 to $7200, the result of an updated point system that awards credit for participating in the state's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). "We have revamped our point system valu- ation for our IPA program that includes points for implementing CREP and points for having equine and /or horticultural operations — recognizing the changing nature of ag operations in the county," Everett said. Montgomery County, Md. Montgomery County has placed first for acres preserved since Farmland Preservation Report conducted its first annual survey in 1995. Montgomery County's lead has always been due to its transfer of development rights program, which *has protected to date 41,270 a�-�res. In- recent years, the TDR program has "not been moving as well as we would like," said John Zawitoski, program administrator. "A task force is looking for ways to get it back on track." The county has protected 1,571 acres through Rural Legacy, 2,308 acres through the MALPF program and 6,268 acres through the county's local easement program. Another 2,086 acres are protected through donations to the Maryland Environmental Trust for a grand total of 53,530. Lancaster County, Pa. Ag output powerhouse Lancaster County retains second place with a level of activity and funding that earns high marks for commitment and ability, with the county program gaining 4,843 acres since July 2000, the third highest gain in the ranking following Sonoma and Berks Counties. Last year the program switched into high gear with a points -based easement valuation formula adopted in August and also began offering install- ment purchases, the first locality in Pennsylvania to do so. The $24 million represents commitment by local officials to wipe out a long- standing backlog of applicants. Other agricultural acres are protected by the Lancaster Farmland Trust. Chester County, Pa. Mushroom capital Chester County broke into FPR's national ranking in 1999 when the survey began allowing acres preserved by other entities in the count, as long as those acres were part of an agricultural parcel. The work of the Brandywine Conservancy made it happen for Chester, which entered the top 10 with some fanfare in local media. This year it handily retains its Number 3 position, with the Brandywine Conservancy adding 2,713 acres and Chester's ag program logging 3,600. Carroll County, Md. Carroll County is having its best state program year, despite the glitch in MALPF accounting. Trying to take care of a backlog of applications from last year, Carroll County Commissioners put up $6 million to bring forward a record number of projects — 23 farms, seven to use MALPF funds and 16 to use county funds exclusively, according to program administrator Bill Powel. "The commissioners put up substantial money this year for MALPF easements with all county funding— the biggest year ever," Powel said. Six of the farms were picked up earlier through the county's Critical Farms Program, which fronts 75 percent of the cost of an easement until MALPF funds become available. With these purchases, Carroll County has 274 farms pre- served through the state program. In addition to 34,428 acres in the MALPF program, Carroll has settled or has under contract 20 Rural Legacy easements covering 1,963 acres. Marin County, Ca. The Marin program is one of the oldest in the nation, and operated by a land trust using state and private funds. The Marin Agricultural Land please continue to page 3