Preserving Farm and Ranch Land in Arizona
In the United States, agricultural land is being lost at an alarming rate—over 1.5 million acres per year. This dramatic decline in farmland reflects a nationwide expansion of urban development that is putting high-quality farmland at risk. Arizona and Maricopa County face similar issues with farmland loss. Between 1997 and 2017, 36% of all farmland in Maricopa County was lost, and rapid urban development and the high cost of land continues to threaten the security of community farmers and the local food system.
To slow these trends, land conservation organizations are working hard to protect farmland, water quality, wildlife habitat, scenic places, and open spaces across the country. These organizations often take the form of land trusts, which are non-profit organizations dedicated to stewarding land to advance conservation goals. Land trusts operate by collaborating with private landowners, governmental partners, and other conservation entities to acquire property or property rights to protect land from development. After obtaining a piece of property or its development rights via purchase or donation, land trusts are tasked with upholding the site’s conservation purpose in perpetuity. The Arizona Land and Water Trust, the Central Arizona Land Trust, the Diablo Trust, and the Arizona Community Land Trust are four prominent organizations working to preserve Arizona land for generations to come.
San Pedro River on Triangle Bar Ranch
Arizona Land and Water Trust
Since the early 1980s, the Arizona Land and Water Trust (ALWT) has worked to preserve farm and ranch land, wildlife habitat, and riparian zones in Southern Arizona. Working with private landowners who are voluntarily interested in conserving their land, ALWT has protected more than 50,000 acres of working lands through donations, conservation easements, and fee acquisition.
As part of its work to preserve key Arizona landscapes, ALWT seeks to restore desert rivers and protect essential watersheds through its Desert Rivers Program in which ALWT assists farmers and ranchers to adopt agricultural water use practices that reduce pressure on local groundwater and surface water supplies. Through voluntary, market-based water transactions, ALWT helps private landowners to adopt water-saving practices such as conversions from high to low-water-use crops, irrigation efficiency improvements, and agricultural fallowing, which involves the suspension of irrigation to part of a farm or pasture to allow for the regeneration of watersheds and soil. Through this program, ALWT has protected thousands of acres of key watersheds in Southern Arizona--including parts of the San Pedro River and tributaries of the Santa Cruz River--through its conservation of the Triangle Bar Ranch near Mammoth and the Soropi Ranch in Amado.
Serving as a bridge between private landowners, communities, and government entities, ALWT advances the conservation of Arizona’s natural assets through collaborative land management. ALWT provides its partners with expert negotiation, legal skills, and leveraged funding to structure, negotiate, and finalize land transactions that advance conservation goals. By serving as an independent agent, ALWT can also purchase land or development rights (via conservation easements) from willing landowners. Finally, ALWT works to protect natural areas and working landscapes by providing private landowners with the tools, resources, and information needed to make informed conservation decisions regarding their land.
For more information on the services provided by ALWT, contact Colleen Iuliucci, Development Coordinator, at ciuliucci@alwt.org. Support the ALWT by donating, signing up for their newsletter and attending their fun virtual happy hours.
Orme Ranch, near Mayer
Central Arizona Land Trust
The Central Arizona Land Trust (CALT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the landscapes of Central and Northern Arizona for future generations. Like the ALWT, CALT is an accredited land trust, meaning that it has undergone an extensive certification process and has been recognized by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission for upholding high standards for land conservation.
Since it was established in 1989, CALT has preserved over 4,500 acres across six Arizona counties, including Coconino, Mohave, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, and Maricopa. CALT seeks to advance the conservation of farmland, ranchland, wildlife habitats, and healthy watersheds, with the goal of protecting iconic western landscapes and the communities that they support. To preserve these spaces, CALT works with willing private landowners to evaluate land conservation options and develop conservation easements that guarantee the long-term protection of these crucial natural resources.
CALT was initially established to protect Thumb Butte, an iconic natural monument in Prescott, from encroaching residential development. Since then, CALT has preserved hundreds of acres of working lands, essential wildlife habitats, and recreational zones in areas like the Central Highlands, the Mogollon Rim, and the Colorado Plateau. One recent conservation acquisition by CALT was the Coldwater Farm in Humboldt which preserved the habitat of over 127 species of birds and protected a key section of the Agua Fria River.
For more information on the services provided by the Central Arizona Land Trust, contact the CALT team at calt@centralazlandtrust.org. Support their work by donating to their current campaign to permanently conserve one of Arizona’s most historic ranches, the Orme Ranch near Mayer.
USGS RestoreNet research plots on Diablo Trust land
Diablo Trust
The Diablo Trust (DT) is dedicated to preserving working lands in Northern Arizona through a research-based, collaborative stewardship approach. Founded by two Arizona family ranches, DT strives to build connections between private, public, and governmental stakeholders to advance land conservation. DT is not a land trust by definition, rather it serves as a collaborative forum to advance sustainability and community participation in the land stewardship process. For more than 25 years, DT has stewarded over 426,000 acres of working ranches through its long-standing partnerships with ranchers, land management agencies, environmental advocacy organizations, and the general public. DT works to enhance wildlife habitats, open spaces, and the local food system by promoting the health of Northern Arizona’s ranchlands. In collaboration with Northern Arizona University, the Diablo Trust has facilitated extensive land-based research and education through its Ranchlands Land Lab.
For more information on the services and research provided by the DiabloTrust, contact the team by email at info@diablotrust.org. Support them by donating and volunteering.
Arizona Community Land Trust
The Arizona Community Land Trust (AzCLT) is an up-and-coming, non-profit that is dedicated to the ideals of land stewardship, community ownership, and the advancement of community health and well-being. AzCLT seeks to acquire and protect land for the benefit of the larger community, with the goal of providing long-term land access for affordable housing and community-based agriculture initiatives. While this land trust is still in its early stages of development, it is committed to developing as a Community Land Trust (CLT). The CLT model is unique in that it is designed to maintain long-term ownership and affordability of a piece of land by the community members who collectively serve as its co-owners and stewards.
Currently, AzCLT is building its Fund for Community Land to utilize for community-based projects. The AzCLT is also building its capacity to purchase land, and is currently working with several property owners in Maricopa County who are interested in seeing their land preserved for the benefit of the community. Additionally, the AzCLT is further developing its member programming on the CLT model, and is actively seeking new members to join its organization and support its goal of protecting community land in Arizona. To learn more about how to support the efforts of Arizona Community Land Trust, visit their webpage. Support the group by donating, and becoming a member at $10 per year.
Coalition for Farmland Preservation
Another newly formed group working on addressing land loss is the Coalition for Farmland Preservation (CFP). The motivation behind this group is to join forces with local landowners, farmers, land trust organizations, investors, local leaders and policy groups to develop strategies that can protect land for growing fresh fruits and vegetables, primarily in Maricopa County. Collaboration allows the opportunity to access shared knowledge and work together towards a common goal. The group is focusing on policy recommendations, mechanisms for land conservation, the ecological benefits of farmland in urban areas and engaging the community. Sign up to get updates on the group developments.
Guest Author Bio
Madeline Mercer is a student in the Master of Sustainability Solutions program at Arizona State University. Mercer has an educational and professional background in urban food systems, regenerative agriculture, and farmland conservation, and her research supports the creation of an equitable local food economy in Maricopa County.