David Viale, Agricultural Lands Program Manager with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, will lead a discussion with land trust representatives to explore ways to improve the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) acquisition process. Input will be sought on topics including shortening the APR acquisition timeline; increasing available funding and the number of projects per year; possibly reimbursing land trusts for project planning and management, due diligence and pre acquisition; other ideas for increasing the number of applications facilitated by land trusts; expanding eligibility for APR or revising ranking criteria; and a possible pathway for APRs other than NRCS' Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Sponsored by the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition.
