Measure A Renewed – A Win for All of Marin County

June 9, 2022

In Tuesday’s election, Marin County voters approved the renewal of funding for Measure A, a one-quarter of one-percent sales tax set aside to help fund parks, open spaces, fire prevention, land stewardship and farmland protection.

For that immense support, we at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) and our partners are truly grateful. It’s heartening that so many people in Marin continue to believe in protecting our local landscapes and we are humbled to collaborate with community partners to ensure that protection for the benefit of all residents.

Measure A – Impact to Date

Since its passage in 2012, Measure A has allowed Marin County to invest $13.3 million in grants for farmland preservation. With the support of the county’s Farmland Preservation Program (Measure A funding), our team here at MALT has protected 11 farms and ranches totaling 6,691 acres through the acquisition of agricultural conservation easements.

Through the extraordinary efficiency of MALT’s public-private funding model, tax-deductible contributions are often matched 1:1 with Measure A funds, doubling the impact of MALT’s privately-raised revenue.

To date, we have invested Measure A funding to protect:

32 miles of streams
3,993 acres of grassland
1,613 acres of forests
32 acres of wetlands
Six beef cattle operations and one dairy
Five dairy replacement heifer grazing operations
One pasture-raised egg operation
Two row crop operations

With the support of Measure A funding, our team here at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) will continue to work to protect our local farms and ranches, ensuring the viability of our local food system.

Next Steps

We take very seriously our responsibility in being good stewards of the land, of donor dollars, and of public funding. The funds generated by the original Measure A sales tax have provided tremendous funding support for MALT’s efforts toward preserving Marin’s agricultural land for agricultural use, contributing to the overall preservation and stewardship of open space in Marin County.

In addition to engaging in public-private financial partnerships and accepting additional funds for new easements and stewardship projects from generous philanthropic organizations and individual donors, we will continue to leverage private dollars to apply for and secure public funding from Marin County as well as from state and federal agencies.

Our mission to preserve Marin’s agricultural land for agricultural use began with our founders Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber 42 years ago, long before the original Measure A sales tax was approved by Marin County voters. We intend to continue to build upon this legacy by finding the best way to be good stewards of both our donor’s support and this public funding.

From all of us at MALT, thank you for your continued interest and support of this work.