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6 land relservation report Co vering the policies, practices and initiati ves that save farmland and open space Since 1990 . Deborah Bowers Editor ry „ . Farmland gets nearly $1 billion federal boost WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congress has passed, - and the president was about to sign at press time, a farm bill that authorizes $985 million in assistance to farmland preservation programs, a sum 28 times higher than the $35 million authorized in the 1996 farm bill. Farmland protection over the last decade has evolved from a mere footnote to one of the top - funded conservation programs in the Farm Security and Rural Development Act of 2002, the formal title of the farm bill. "This is a big step ahead for farmland preservation. We'll be considered one of the mainline programs for the future," said Land Trust Alliance federal policy director Russ Shay. Denise Coleman of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the agency.that administers the Farmland Protection Program (FPP), said a request for proposals is ready to go out to states as soon as it is approved by legal counsel and NRCS chief Bruce Knight. The request for proposals (RFP) will find farmland preservation programs ready to respond, nationwide, as NRCS moves to spend $50 million by Sept. 30. For FY 03, $100 million is authorized, and for 2004 and 2005 each, $125 million. Douglas Lawrence, chief of the NRCS Community Assistance and Resource Conservation Division, said a provision in the farm bill requiring rulemaking to occur within 90 days of bill passage will not preclude publication of the RFP. "Our goal is to get it out in less than two weeks," he said. Anticipating significant funding for the FPP would be approved in the farm bill, Lawrence's division primed state NRCS offices in March by having them contact probable applicants to determine the level of potential requests. According to Coleman, 34 states inquired about the program, "so there are more and more states coming on board all the time ... those states have indicated they have $234 million in offers -in- hand," she said. In addition, the presence of significant money in Washington is already having an effect Continued on page 2 Volume 12, Number 7 May 2002 Bruce Knight becomes chief at NRCS .......................... 5 Supreme Court rules no takings at Tahoe ..................... 5 Study shows Ca. land trust ag protection ..................... 5 Jobpostings ................................. ............................... 7 11 'IN Farmland Preservation Report is published by Bowers Publishing, Inc. 10 times per year. Subscription rate of $205 includes index and hotline services. Editorial and circulation offices: 900 La Grange Rd., Street, Maryland 21154 • (410) 692 -2708 * ISSN: 1050 -6373. © 2002 by Bowers Publishing, Inc. Reproduction in any form, or electronic forwarding of this material without permission from the publisher is prohibited.