SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed Senate Bill 1142, legislation by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), which creates a relief stream of funding for critical farm and ranchland habitats.

Also known as the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, SB 1142 goes into effect January 1, 2011.

Wiggins introduced SB 1142 in February in the midst of growing concern over the viability of the state’s Williamson Act program, which had for more than four decades served as a consistent source of a financial support for California farmers committed to maintaining their lands in agricultural production.

Since 1965, the state’s general fund has paid counties and cities about $40 million a year to make up for the property tax revenues lost because of lowered assessments. The general fund automatically backfills school districts for lost property taxes. However, the economic downturn and ongoing budget deficits have left the fate of the Williamson Act program up in the air.

“California’s farmers and ranchers are struggling to keep their lands in active agriculture production and face many challenges,” Wiggins said. “Ensuring that these lands continue to produce food for Californians and the nation simultaneously provides many other public benefits, including support for rural economies, water supply and quality, flood control, wildlife, scenic vistas and our agricultural heritage.”

SB 1142 gives the DOC flexibility to work with landowners by using other existing funding as grants to protect riparian zones, wildlife habitat or flood corridors while simultaneously keeping the farmed portions in agricultural use.

The new fund established by the Wiggins bill would also be managed by the DOC. Money would come from existing bonds for soil, water and farmland conservation, but no new taxes would be required.

Nonprofits could also be involved, via cost-sharing, in the identification of critical habitats and other joint projects.

In Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties alone, almost 100,000 acres of farmland has been lost since 1984. The biggest loss was in grasslands, which are good for livestock, wildlife, and watershed protection.

“SB 1142 is good government,” Wiggins said. “It gives farmers the ability to tap into an existing funding stream to protect the farms from which we all benefit. And it makes better use of tax dollars through carefully evaluated easements to protect critical habitats and watersheds.”

The measure was sponsored by the California Association of Land Trusts and supported by dozens of land conservation and farming groups.