STATE-LOCAL PROGRAM CONNECTIONS IN MARYLAND, NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA

Twenty-four programs-more than half of our sample-are operated by county governments in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These three states lead the nation in the volume of agricultural easement activities-in number of local programs, easement acres accumulated and farms covered.

Within these states, easement program activities involve complex state-local government connections, in-program rules, acquisition processes and funding. Table 1 compares the major features of these connections. State government in each case provides the major part of easement funds, requires local matches, establishes minimum parcel characteristics and imposes requirements on local program operations. Requirements include the appointment of citizens' oversight/advisory bodies. The process of selecting easements follows a structured path, from initial county review to final funding decisions by state government. Yet counties also exercise varying degrees of discretion in being able to add selection criteria and fund acquisitions independent of the state.

Described below are the unique features of the connections in each state.

Maryland - Three different agricultural easement programs operate here.

1. Under the oldest and basic program-administered by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF)-the state provides most funds and holds the easements, while counties handle transactions with landowners and add local funds to easement costs. Counties that receive state certification receive additional state funds.
2. Since 1997, the state's Rural Legacy program has helped counties to acquire, and co-hold with the state, easements on farms and other open space lands in designated preserve areas.
3. Some counties also operate independent easement programs, funding acquisitions entirely out of local revenues.

New Jersey - This state also has three different programs.

1. The oldest and basic is the County Easement Purchase Program, in which counties acquire and hold easements after state review and funding.
2. Under the Planning Incentive Grant Program, in place since 1999, multi-year state-local funding commitments are made to acquire contiguous blocks of farms in high priority preservation areas identified through local planning with state approval.
3. In the Direct Easement Program, state government acquires and holds easements with no local government participation. Municipalities (townships), on an optional basis and in cooperation with counties, contribute to easements acquired in the first two programs.

Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania is unique among the three states in allocating funds on a formula basis to all eligible counties-with individual amounts influenced by the degree of local fiscal matches-instead of parceling out funds by approved application. While county programs are required to use a quantitative ranking system-with priority given to soil quality-in selecting applications, the state government review of county-submitted proposals is minimal as compared to Maryland and New Jersey. Depending on the respective shares of funding, easements are held entirely by counties, jointly with the state or entirely by the state. As in New Jersey, many municipalities (townships) cost-share with county governments in the acquisition of easements; a few municipalities also operate independent programs.

Table 1
STATE-LOCAL PROGRAM FEATURES IN MARYLAND,
NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA

Sources: AFT documents including case studies of programs and state program status, state program documents and phone conversations with state program staff.

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