Wisconsin - TOWN OF DUNN
Township-wide program - Formed in 1996 - researched by Anita Zurbrugg

OVERVIEW - Dunn Township operates the only established agricultural easement program in Wisconsin and one of the few in the Midwest. Strong local sentiments for farmland and open space protection account for this innovation. Many town residents work for state government and the University of Wisconsin in nearby Madison, the state capital. Agricultural easements acquired through the Rural Preservation Program are a principal component of the town's land use strategies, which also includes designated agricultural preservation areas with limited building possibilities. As well as the emphasis on farmland protection, the preservation of environmental, archaeological, scenic and historic and cultural resources are program goals. Under a formal agreement, the township collaborates closely with a countywide land trust in co-holding and monitoring easements. As well as approving local funding measures, voters are given a unusual degree of control in easement acquisitions by being asked to ratify purchase decisions at special town meetings. Although there is no ongoing state funding source for agricultural easement activities, Dunn has been successful in obtaining state government support for individual easements because of their habitat and open space values. It is also the only local government program in Wisconsin to receive funds from the federal Farmland Protection Program.

EASEMENT ACTIVITY - 2,064 agricultural acres representing 15 farm parcels composed primarily of cropland. Easements are co-held by the Dane County Natural Heritage Land Trust, under a formal township-land trust agreement that specifies monitoring and other activities.
Goals: No specific program goals.
Other Easement Programs: Easements are also held by Natural Heritage Land Trust for a total of a few hundred acres including some agricultural lands.
Total Agricultural Easements in Township: Approximately 2,400 acres.

FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $3.38 million on agricultural easements.
Revenues: A dedicated local property tax has provided about 46 percent of expenditures with outside sources supplying 54 percent. Voters on two separate occasions approved financial support for the program-initially in 1996 voting for a property tax increase of 50 cents per $1,000 equalized valuation to establish the program, and then in 2002 (at an annual town meeting attended by electors) approving a $2.4 million bond issue to accelerate acquisitions. The property tax generates about $200,000 a year, mostly used to pay off the bond. To date the property tax has produced a total of $1.7 million. Other sources: Federal funds-$910,000; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-$689,000; Dane County Parks Department-$442,000.

GOVERNANCE -The program is overseen by the Dunn Land Trust Commission composed of seven members appointed by the Town of Dunn Board of Supervisors. A minority of commissioners are Dane county residents who live outside the township.

STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - The program is staffed on a half-time basis by the land use coordinator who also has other township duties. A separate operating budget is not available.

ORIGINS - Since 1979, Dunn Township has had a land use plan, adopted to manage growth and protect agricultural and natural resource lands. However, town leaders and residents in the early 1990s believed that additional preservation measures were needed. A three-year process of study and deliberation occurred before the agricultural easement program was established in 1996 with voter approval of the 50 cent property tax. A volunteer ad hoc committee convened in 1993 and in 1994 the results of a Cost of Community Services study found that agricultural, forest, and other open space lands were the least costly of all land uses for the township to serve. The first easement was acquired in 1997, in cooperation with the Dane County Parks Department and two local land trusts.

ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - Landowners with parcels in Agricultural Preserve Areas are annually invited to submit formal pre-applications to be considered in the annual round of PDR negotiations. Applications submitted are retained for consideration in future years. During the review process, the Land Trust Commission meets with landowners to discuss ranking factors. Although quantitative rankings are used, the program has discretion to select the top three applications in the annual cycle for further consideration. After approval by the Commission and the elected Board of Supervisors, purchase decisions are ratified by voters participating in a special town meeting.
Rating of Parcels: Quantitative. The top four factors in possible points are: (1) Cost; (2) Historic and Natural Resource Values; (3) Agricultural quality (soils); and (4) Contiguity.
Other Criteria: Minimum requirement of location within agricultural preserve areas.

CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES - The agricultural easement program complements the town's land use plan-originally adopted in 1979-that limits residential development to three separate areas: (1) previously platted vacant residential lots; (2) infill in sewered and platted areas; and (3) in agricultural areas where the splitting of one lot contiguously owned is permitted and meets the minimum 35 acre lot size zoning density. Designated Agricultural Preservation Areas will be considered fully built out when all platted parcels and permitted parcel splits are developed and/or an equivalent number of development rights have been purchased on these parcels.
Zoning: One unit to 35 acres in Agricultural Preservation Areas.

DEMOGRAPHICS (Township)
2000 Population: 5,406
1990-2000 Population Change: +132 residents; +2 percent

AGRICULTURAL LAND
512,971 acres in 1997: 413,711 cropland (80 percent), 2,595 farms (County data unless otherwise noted)
Conversion to Urban Use: Town of Dunn: Over 3,000 acres from 1978 to 1998. Total township agricultural acres decreased from 11,300 in 1980 to 7,500 acres in 1998 (approximately 34 percent of 1980 base). (Program data)

OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: $284 million (County) Number of Farms: 2,595 (County)
Principal Commodities: Dairy products, corn for grain, poultry and poultry products

MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY (PROGRAM MAP)
In addition to agricultural easements marked as Dunn Conservation Easements, the township contains a significant amount of other protected lands-both open and closed to public access. Easement acquisitions are focused on eligible parcels of land distributed throughout the township as designated Agricultural Preservation Areas under the land use plan.

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