Farmland Preservation Grants
Farmland Preservation grants, with matching funds from non-profit partners, purchase permanent conservation easements of properties in productive agriculture use, through voluntary transactions with landowners. In addition to protecting food security through agricultural industry, maintaining farms and ranches helps preserve open space habitat, wildlife corridors. and watersheds.
In 2012, Marin voters first passed Measure A. In 2022, voters renewed Measure A, with modification, for an additional nine years. Twenty percent of Parks Measure A funds are now mandated for sustainable agriculture. Per the legal ordinance, fifty percent of that twenty percent is allocated toward farmland conservation easements. Learn more about Parks Measure A.
As of 2026, the Farmland Preservation program has preserved working agricultural properties in Marin, totaling 10,600 acres. Farmland preservation takes place in collaboration with local non-profit organizations to amplify the impact of Measure A funds. Management of these lands remains with the working ranch families. After a conservation easement is in place, no ongoing management costs are incurred by the County.
A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits future uses of a property—such as preventing development or subdivision—to protect its natural, agricultural, or scenic value.
Measure A Farmland Preservation Grants
2024
Parks Home Ranch
177 acre conservation easement, north of Tomales, headwaters of Tomales Creek
$397,500 - Measure A
$397,500 - USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement grant
Plus $34,340 in total administrative costs: Measure A $17,170; MALT $17,170.
Grant agreement - Item 12, April 16, 2024 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2024
Hicks Mountain Ranch
344 acre conservation easement, east of Point Reyes Station
$400,000 - Measure A
$400,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $38,100 in total administrative costs: Measure A $16,908; MALT $16,908.
Grant agreement - Item 12, April 16, 2024 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2024
Corda Family Ranch
903 acre conservation easement, located along Novato Boulevard
$2,500,000 - Measure A
$2,500,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $66,836.50 in total administrative costs: Measure A $20,396; MALT $46,441.
Grant agreement - Item 12, April 16, 2024 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2024
Corda Family Ranch
903 acre conservation easement, located along Novato Boulevard
$2,500,000 - Measure A
$2,500,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $66,836.50 in total administrative costs: Measure A $20,396; MALT $46,441.
Grant agreement - Item 12, April 16, 2024 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2023
Spring Valley Ranch Ranch
1,179 acre conservation easement, south of the Soulajule Reservoir west of Hicks Valley
$1,777,500 - Measure A
$1,777,500 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $55,853 in total administrative costs: Measure A $24,800; MALT $31,053.
Grant agreement - item 12, December 5, 2023 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2023
Bivista Ridge Ranch
592 acre conservation easement, east shore of San Pablo Bay
$1,468,050 - Measure A
$2,465,950 - California Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC)
Plus $161,648 in administrative costs: Measure A $32,300; MALT $129,348.
Grant agreement - item 11, December 5, 2023 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2022
Duncan Ranch
540 acre conservation easement, five miles outside of Tomales
$1,350,000 - Measure A
$1,350,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $35,706 in total administrative costs: Measure A $15,300; MALT $20,406.
Grant agreement - item 10, September 27, 2022, Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2022
McDowell Ranch
723 acre conservation easement, located east of Tomales near Marin and Sonoma County lines
$1,800,000 - Measure A
$1,800,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $40, 834 in total administrative costs: Measure A $17,300; MALT $23,534
Grant agreement - item 10, July 12, 2022 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2019
Ielmorini Ranch
758 acre conservation easement, spanning the hills above San Geronimo Valley to inland Sonoma County and Mount Saint Helena
$1,516,000 - Measure A
$1,516,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item 11, June 4, 2019 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2018
Millerton Creek Ranch
865 acre conservation easement, spanning the hills above San Geronimo Valley to inland Sonoma County and Mount Saint Helena
$1,717,400 - Measure A
$2,178,600 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item CB-3, September 18, 2018 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2018
J. McIsaac Ranch
527 acre conservation easement, located on the north bank of the Nicasio Reservoir
$1,713,500 - Measure A
$1,713,500 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $28,236 in total administrative costs: Measure A $14,117; MALT $14,119
Grant agreement - item 15, March 13, 2018 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2018
Taylor Ranch (formerly Bianchini Ranch)
705 acre conservation easement, in Point Reyes Station, overlooking Tomales Bay
$1,797,000 - Measure A
$1,797,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $35,832 in total administrative costs: Measure A $17,916; MALT $17,916
Grant agreement - item 12, January 23, 2018 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2017
Furlong Ranch
609 acre conservation easement, located off Highway 1 overlooking Tomales Bay
$1,309,500 - Measure A
$1,309,500 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $31,964 in total administrative costs: Measure A $15,981; MALT $15,981
Grant agreement - item 16, December 5, 2017 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2017
Evans-Giacomini Ranch (also known as Al Grossi Ranch)
998 acre conservation easement, north of the town of Nicasio, above the Nicasio Reservoir
$1,642,500 - Measure A
$1,642,500 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $31,964 in total administrative costs: Measure A $15,982; MALT $15,982
Grant agreement - item 9, September 12, 2017 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2016
E. Martinelli Ranch (also known as Stanley Martinelli Ranch)
602 acre conservation easement, adjacent to Golden Gate National Recreation Area near Tomales Bay
$907,500 - Measure A
$907,500 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
Plus $22,653.08 in total administrative costs: Measure A $9,059; MALT $13,594.08
Grant agreement - item CB-4, December 13, 2016 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2016
Wilson Hill Road Ranch (also known as W. A. Jacobsen Ranch)
491 acre conservation easement, located in Chileno Valley on the Marin border outside of Petaluma
$1,115,000 - Measure A
$1,115,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item CA9b, April 19, 2016 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2015
Gallagher North Bend Ranch
330 acre conservation easement, near Point Reyes Station bordering Lagunitas Creek
$519,950 - Measure A
$475,000 - California Coastal Conservancy grant
$490,050 - California Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC)
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item CB-2, December 8, 2015 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting (Measure A contribution reduced after notification of additional grant funds.)
2015
Murphy Ranch
186 acre conservation easement, near Tomales Bay
$412,000 - Measure A
$213,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
$200,000 - Natural Resource Conservation Service Agricultural Land Easement Program
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item 7, August 4, 2015 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting
2014
Hicks Canyon Ranch (formerly Thacher Ranch)
623 acre conservation easement, near Chileno Valley Road and the Marin-Sonoma county line
$537,000 - Measure A
$500,000 - Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) matching funds
$520,000 - USDA Natural Conservation Resources
$250,000 - One Bay Area program grant
No administrative costs applied for
Grant agreement - item 10, May 20,2014 Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting