Forty three years ago, Phyllis Faber and Ellen Straus — a botanist and a dairy farmer — brought together local ranchers and conservationists to protect family farms from mounting development pressure in Marin County. Their tenacity and foresight resulted in the creation of our organization, the first land trust in the nation focused specifically on protecting farm and ranchland.
We can all find inspiration in how two individuals of different backgrounds saw the value of protecting agricultural lands — to preserve a biodiverse landscape, a local economy, and a way of life — and brought a community together to act.
Honoring the legacy and vision of our founders, we are excited to embark on the next chapter of our work which builds on their foundation of success. To help guide these efforts over the next few years, we are organizing our work around five strategic pillars.
Learn more below and dive deeper on our blog.
PRESERVING AGRICULTURE
Conserve the most important farmland to support a thriving, economically viable agricultural community in Marin.
PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY
Protect, restore, and improve agricultural lands to benefit wildlife habitat, landscape connectivity, soil health, and water quality.
BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Incentivize and accelerate climate smart agricultural practices and nature-based solutions that deliver climate resilience.
CONNECTING OUR COMMUNITY
Inspire and build a constituency to increase awareness of the public benefit of protecting agricultural land.
STRENGTHENING THE ORGANIZATION
Invest in the people, technology, and processes that support the foundation of our organization.