Workshops on Land Use and Land Protection Policy

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: general education and training

The goals of this project were to provide an educational opportunity on land use and agricultural land protection for Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), land trust, local government and state forestry field staff in Idaho and Utah, and to ensure their ongoing participation in these issues.

1. Provide professional development for Cooperative Extension, NRCS, RC&D, land trust, local government and state forestry field staff in Idaho and Utah so they can effectively respond to issues inherent to land use pressure at the rural urban interface.

2. Provide trainees with the ability to work with constituents to develop policy options for guiding land use change in the interest of protecting farm, ranch and forested land. As a result of these training sessions, participants should be able to: (a) Estimate land use, economic and demographic changes in their counties; (b) Estimate citizen preferences and attitudes about land use patterns; (c) Understand existing or potential tools and techniques to guide development and protect farmland; (d) Understand comprehensive planning as a formal process and the plan as a strategic document; (e) Provide farmers, ranchers, other landowners and land use decision makers with current information on land protection options and strategies available in their states; and

3. Establish the basis for continuing informal involvement in land use policy discussions and participant-offered training of others as future needs arise. (a) Use the network of state and regional contacts and resources available to obtain continuing information on land use issues. (b) Use AFT's Farmland Information Center to obtain additional information on a continuing basis.