I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2202
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to promote the
voluntary protection of certain lands in portions of Marin and Sonoma
Counties, California, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 15, 1999
Ms. WOOLSEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants
to promote the voluntary protection of certain lands in
portions of Marin and Sonoma Counties, California, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Point Reyes Farmland
Protection Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. POINT REYES FARMLAND PROTECTION.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) ELIGIBLE LANDS.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible
lands’’ means parcels of land in Marin or
Sonoma Counties in the State of California that
are located wholly or partially in what is known
as—
(i) the Marin County coastal zone,
unit II, per Marin County Agricultural
Zoning Map, file designation, MALT-
AGDWG, 
PLT.HPG, 
extending 
from
Lagunitas Creek north along the east
shore of Tomales Bay to the boundary
with Sonoma County; or
(ii) the Sonoma County coastal zone,
per the Sonoma County Post-Local Coastal
Plan Certification Map of January 1981,
extending from the boundary with Marin
County north to Highway 1 and Doran
Beach Road.
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term does not in-
clude any lands described in subparagraph (A)
that are zoned solely or exclusively for commer-
cial or residential use.
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means—
(A) a State or local government agency; or
(B) a nonprofit organization having sub-
stantial experience in the holding, monitoring,
and managing of conservation easements on eli-
gible lands, including the Marin Agricultural
Land Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural
Preservation and Open Space District, and the
Sonoma Land Trust.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—
(1) to promote the acquisition of conservation
easements on eligible lands from willing sellers,
which will protect agricultural lands and prevent in-
compatible development, while still maintaining the
lands in private ownership;
(2) to create a voluntary public/private partner-
ship among the Federal Government, the State of
California, local governments, eligible entities, and
participating citizens, which can serve as a model for
other farmland, watershed, and open space preserva-
tion efforts; and
(3) to protect the substantial Federal invest-
ment in the Point Reyes National Seashore by pro-
tecting nearby eligible lands and water resources
that maintain the relatively undeveloped nature of
the lands adjacent to Tomales and Bodega Bays.
(c) GRANTS FOR PURCHASE OF EASEMENTS.—To
promote the purposes of this section, the Secretary may
make grants to eligible entities to provide the Federal
share of the cost of purchasing permanent conservation
easements on eligible lands from willing sellers for the pur-
pose of preserving agricultural lands.
(d) NEGOTIATION, ACQUISITION, AND ADMINISTRA-
TION OF EASEMENTS.—
(1) 
ACQUISITION
OF
PERMANENT
EASE-
MENTS.—Easements acquired using funds provided
by the Secretary under subsection (c) shall be in
perpetuity.
(2) NEGOTIATION.—The acquisition of an ease-
ment using funds provided by the Secretary under
subsection (c) shall be negotiated and transacted be-
tween the willing seller and the eligible entity.
(3) ADMINISTRATION.—Easements acquired by
an eligible entity using funds provided by the Sec-
retary under subsection (c) shall be held by the eligi-
ble entity.
(4) EXECUTORY LIMITATION.—If an eligible en-
tity holding an easement acquired using funds pro-
vided by the Secretary under subsection (c) ceases to
exist or ceases to be a nonprofit organization, the el-
igible entity’s rights and obligations under the ease-
ment shall vest in the United States.
(e) PROTECTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.—
(1) CONSENT OF OWNER REQUIRED.—No inter-
est in eligible lands may be acquired using funds
provided by the Secretary under subsection (c) with-
out the consent of the owner of the eligible lands.
(2) PROHIBITION
ON
LAND
PURCHASES.—
Funds provided by the Secretary under subsection
(c) may not be used, or combined with other funds,
to acquire land in fee title.
(3) REGULATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to authorize the Secretary or any other
Federal agency or official to regulate the use or en-
joyment of privately owned eligible lands, including
lands subject to easements held by an eligible entity.
(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—
(1) MATCHING
REQUIREMENT.—Subject to
paragraph (2), the Federal share of the costs for ac-
quiring a conservation easement in eligible lands
may not exceed one half of the total costs of such
acquisition. The non-Federal share of the acquisition
costs may be provided in the form of property, mon-
ies, services, or in-kind contributions, fairly valued.
(2) RECOGNITION OF PREVIOUS CONSERVATION
EFFORTS.—To the extent that an eligible entity
holds conservation easements on eligible lands as of
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall waive the match requirement of paragraph (1)
for that eligible entity until such time as Federal
funds are provided to that eligible entity under sub-
section (c) in an amount equal to the fair market
value of the conservation easements, as determined
by the Secretary.
(g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAND PRESERVATION
EFFORTS.—The authority provided by this section is in
addition to, and shall not preclude the use of, other au-
thorities that may be available to the Federal Government
to preserve eligible lands.
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated $60,000,000 to the Sec-
retary to make grants under this section.
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