DEVELOPING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO FARMLAND PROTECTION PLANNING BASED ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, CLIMATE RESILIENCY, AND SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1028081
• Grant No.: 2022-67020-37132
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $650,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2021-09786
• Project Start Date: May 1, 2022
• Project End Date: Apr 30, 2026
• Grant Year: 2022
• Program Code: [A1451]- Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment: Agroecosystem Management

Recipient Organization
BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY
1910 UNIVERSITY DRIVE
BOISE,ID 83725

Performing Department
College of Innovation & Design

Non Technical Summary
The U.S. is losing 2,000 acres/day of croplands to development, and 40% of the loss occurs on the nation's most productive, versatile, and climate resilient agricultural lands. It is not possible to protect all farmland from development, but there is broad consensus that we should try to protect high-priority agricultural lands. This project develops a systematic, data-driven approach for prioritizing where and how to protect farmland in regions facing increasing development pressures. Our study area is the Snake River Plain of Idaho, which produces >80 different agricultural products, and has global importance in the production of various specialty products, including seed, dairy, hops, wine, sugar beets, barley, pulses and potatoes. The region is also a hotspot of human population growth, and the rapid development has stimulated a nascent but highly-motivated policy and practitioner community focused on farmland protection. In this project, we will develop a Farmland Protection Planning (FPP) framework where we a) map ecosystem services using spatial modeling approaches, b) identify priority areas for protection based on ecosystem services, productivity and climate resilience using optimization algorithms, c) measure social factors influencing farmland protection using qualitative social science methods, and d) create a "Farmland Protection Planning Handbook" for practitioners that integrates the spatial maps of prioritized farmland with insights gained from the social science component. The FPP Handbook will enable our stakeholder partners to more effectively prioritize farmland protection, and the FPP framework that we develop will be directly applicable to other regions of the country experiencing agricultural land loss.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	0199	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

decision-support

ecosystem services

social-ecological systems; conservation

sustainable ag. sys.

Goals / Objectives
Problem: America continues to lose its highest quality farmland at an alarming rate. Of the 10.9 million acres of farmland lost to development from 2001 to 2016, 4.4 million acres, or 40%, were "Nationally Significant" because of their high productivity, versatility, and resiliency to climatic changes (Freedgood et al., 2020). High quality agricultural land is one of the nation's most important natural resources. Its conversion to development represents an irreversible loss of our nation's capacity to grow food and other ecosystem services associated with agricultural land, as well as attendant economic and rural community effects. It is not possible to protect all farmland from development, but this proposal proceeds from the assumption that we should try to protect the highest priority farmland.Knowledge Gap: Currently, decisions about where to protect farmland typically are made opportunistically (e.g. siting an easement where there is a willing farmer), or according to socio-political boundaries (e.g. zoning according to a city-limit). A more systematic approach to protecting high-priority farmland is needed. The first step is to develop a standard definition of how to measure "value" in terms of agricultural land. An "ecosystem services'' (ES) approach provides a framework for measuring multiple benefits that society receives from viable agricultural landscapes (Freedgood et al., 2020; Qiu & Turner, 2013). For example, crop productivity is important, but so are factors such as climate resilience, specialty crop production, or important non-food benefits that agricultural lands provide, such as cultural heritage, rural community well-being or species habitat (Narducci et al., 2019; Slemp et al., 2012; Quintas-Soriano et al., 2020).Additional social and economic concerns must also be considered when prioritizing farmland protection (Bunce, 1998). For instance, individuals and communities are not equally accepting of land use policies or interventions, and people at multiple levels (e.g., individual farmers, county planners, state legislators) must support farmland protection strategies for them to be effective. In addition, development pressure is an important consideration when investing in agricultural protection. For example, there is likely not a need to place an easement on farmland in areas where development is not a threat. Understanding the range of social and economic factors influencing farmland protection is essential for effective prioritization strategies.Project Objectives: We propose to develop a systematic and data-driven approach to prioritizing where and how to protect farmland (Fig. 1). Our study area is the Snake River Plain agricultural region of Idaho, which is both a nationally and internationally important agricultural production region, and a hotspot of human population growth. Our specific objectives are:1. Map a suite of ES across the entire Snake River Plain under current and projected land use scenarios, and measure the trade-offs and synergies among ES associated with farmland loss.2. Develop a Farmland Protection Planning (FPP) approach that uses optimization algorithms to identify priority areas for protection based on ES, land productivity, climate resiliency, and development pressures.3. Examine social factors influencing farmland protection using qualitative social science research methods.4. Create a "Farmland Protection Planning Handbook" for practitioners that integrates the spatial maps of prioritized farmland with insights gained from the social science.

Project Methods
Objective 1: Map a suite of ES across the entire Snake River Plain under current and projected land use scenarios, and measure the trade-offs and synergies among ES associated with farmland loss. First, we will use spatial modeling frameworks to obtain spatially-explicit estimates of the provision of each ES across the entire Snake River Plain. We will then intersect our ES maps with published urban growth projections and calculate aggregate values of each ES in the future. This will allow an estimation of the ES gains and losses associated with farmland loss to development for the entire region, which has been done for midwestern, coastal, and eastern agricultural systems, but not yet in the context of semi-arid, irrigated agricultural landscapes of the West. Second, we will compare trade-offs and synergies among ES for our three different case study sites, allowing hypothesis-driven inquiry as to how social-ecological context influences farmland-ES relationships. Finally, the ES maps created in this objective will form the foundation of the prioritization analysis in Objective 2, whose end goal is to help inform land management.Objective 2: Develop a Farmland Protection Planning (FPP) approach that uses optimization algorithms to identify priority areas for protection based on ES, land productivity, climate resiliency, and development pressures.In this objective, we develop a Farmland Protection Planning (FPP) framework that uses a systematic spatial prioritization approach to identify agricultural lands for protection based on various relevant biophysical and socio-economic inputs, including ES, the productivity, versatility and climate resiliency of the farmland (i.e. PVR, from Freedgood et al., 2020), and development pressure.Objective 3: Examine social factors influencing farmland protection using qualitative social science research methodsObjective 3 addresses the major knowledge gap about the key social and policy factors that influence the implementation and success of farmland protection. In objectives 1 and 2, we develop spatial analytical tools to identify areas on the landscape that might be ideal candidates for preservation. This is especially important in the proposed study sites--the Treasure, Magic, and Teton Valleys--which feature prime agricultural land and face significant and rapid population growth and development pressures. Yet we know that decisions about farmland protection are not made solely on the basis of biophysical or economic factors. Social and political factors are just as important in decision-making about land uses (e.g., Skog, 2018; Tulloch, et al., 2003; Wester-Herber, 2004).The overarching goal of Objective 3 is to understand the values that different stakeholders bring to debates around farmland preservation, and how these values impact decisions made about policy trade-offs in the context of farmland preservation. By pursuing this goal in each of our three study sites, we hope to identify predictors of likely conflict or contestation that can be integrated with biophysical predictors of farmland preservation.Specifically, across the three study sites, we will address the following two specific objectives.Characterize the farmland protection "policy community" at each site (Kingdon, 2010).Identify social and political characteristics that impact farmland preservation efforts at the study sites, focusing in particular on the role of policy trade-offs and spatial factors.Objective 4. Create a "Farmland Protection Planning Handbook" for practitioners that integrates the spatial maps of prioritized farmland with insights gained from the social scienceIn this objective, we bring together the findings from the spatial analyses described in Obj. 1 and 2, with the analysis of nascent policy communities and stakeholder groups engaged in or affected by farmland protection efforts conducted in Obj. 3. Objective 3 articulates how we believe we may glean valuable social scientific information about values, trade-offs, and conflicts when we present groups of stakeholders/members of policy communities with spatially explicit information about farmland loss and associated threats to ecosystem services. Findings from this part of the study will be published in academic journals because the insights will be valuable to scholars focusing on farmland preservation, rural/urban politics and growth, and stakeholder engagement in natural resources management. However, it is equally important that we provide information for practitioners engaged in farmland protection efforts as well (Fry et al., 2018; Hoffman, 2021; Talley et al., 2016). The goal is to both identify sets of values and commitments that might enable or constrain farmland protection policy efforts and to develop analytical tools that might guide similar stakeholder engagement and policymaking in other environments.To this end, we propose creating a handbook for grassroots and non-profit organizers, farmers, policymakers, and other on-the-ground stakeholders who seek to more effectively engage their communities in change. The output maps of spatial prioritization will be integrated with interviews and focus groups to clarify values and conflicts. Then this approach will be described in a suite of products that comprise a "handbook" for farmland preservation practitioners working on this issue in other areas. Our team has experience in translating technical information for diverse audiences, a task several of us took on when we created the Treasure Valley Water Atlas (Benner et al., 2018). The investigators have all had experience creating products for the public based on scientific work (e.g., Schneider 2018, Som Castellano and Hicks, 2015; Curl et al. 2020; Brandt and Bartee 2012; McSherry et al. 2017; Narducci et al., 2017).The research team, including PhD students, will design a draft handbook, drawing from the research efforts described in this proposal. We will vet he draft handbook with smaller groups of stakeholders and decision-makers for accuracy and effectiveness before being distributed to study participants and organizations active in farmland preservation efforts in the Snake River Plain.

Progress 05/01/24 to 04/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience:We conducted a wide variety of efforts to engage diverse stakeholders. General types of efforts included: Invited speaker and panel presentations at workshops and planning events. Tabling at a local open-air festival focused on agricultural appreciation. In-person meetings and conference calls with other actors actively engaged in farmland protection (e.g. agricultural industry, city planners, land trusts). Experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate student researchers. Development of a web presence on the Boise State system In Year 3, we conducted the following specific stakeholder engagement activities: Every third Thursday of every month - Attended 'AgChat' hosted by Jaap Voss at University of Idaho Year Long - In person in-depth qualitative interviews with research participants and community members. September 23-25 2024 - Attended and networked at Idaho Association of Counties Annual Meeting in Boise, Idaho October 23 2024 - Attended Free Range Conversations with AFT and Secretary Vilsack November 11-13 2024 - Attended the Idaho Cattle Association Annual Convention in Sun Valley ID, where for the first time ag land protection was on the agenda. November 12 2024 - Attended AFT Roundtable January 27-30 2025 - Attended the Idaho Association of Counties Midwinter Conference in Boise, ID, where the new legislation on agricultural protection area was being heavily discussed. February 12 2025 - Participated in day long IGE STEM Storytelling Workshop on BSU campus. February 18 2025 - Attended AFT Roundtable February 20 2025 -Attended Panel Discussion #1: Prioritizing Agricultural Lands in Idaho's Rapidly Developing Landscape at Jack's Urban Meeting Place, Boise ID. May 13 2025 - Attended AFT Roundtable In Year 3, we engaged with the following specific stakeholders: Representatives of agricultural industry NRCS Ada Soil & Water Conservation District Individual farmers Crookham Seed Company Eastern Idaho Seed Growers Association Idaho Farm Bureau Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts Idaho Department of Agriculture Idaho Historic Preservation Consultant Idaho Smart Growth Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Payette Soil & Water Conservation District Non-profits focused on farmland preservation Land Trust of the Treasure Valley American Farmland Trust Friends of the Teton River Treasure Valley Food Coalition Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts The Nature Conservancy General Public - Press releases and interviews Table at a regional "Treasure our Valley" festival about agriculture in Idaho Boise State Public Radio City and County Planners Boise City Ada County Adams County Canyon County Compass: Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho Canyon County Development Services Owyhee County Community Development Payette County Planning and Zoning Teton County In Year 3, we completed the following educational activities: The project integrates 4 faculty researchers from multiple disciplines and provides training for 3 PhD students and several undergraduates. In addition, we have integrated training in undergraduate research as a key component in our project. We have conducted the following activities focused on undergraduate education: Undergraduate research mentorship Fall 2024: Continued project from Spring 2024 with two undergraduate students (both returning from previous semester) in investigating potential data indicators from various federal datasets for an archetype analysis of farmland loss in Idaho. Culminated in poster presentation at Service Learning/Vertically Integrated Projects Expo Spring 2025: Continued project from Fall 2024 with one returning undergraduate student. Culminated in poster presentation at Undergraduate Research Showcase Creation of teaching resources for undergraduate education "Fall 2024-Spring 2025: Developed 4 additional research modules for undergraduate research team that teach data processing skills in R with a focus on publicly available agricultural and demographic data." Spring 2025: Created series of data analysis in R tutorial videos for R novices Professional Development February 20 2025 - Guest Lectured in Rural Sociology class February 27, 2025: Instructor at Carpentries workshop at Boise State University. Co-taught full-day workshop for beginners in Python (topics: coding basics, vectors), ~15 learners PRODUCTS Publications in Year 3 Halperin, S., Koehn, C., Johnson, K., and Brandt, Jodi S., 2025. Biological Conservation. Systematic Conservation Planning for Private Working Lands: Identifying Agricultural Protection Areas for Climate Solutions, Biodiversity Habitat, and Ecosystem Services. Presentations in Year 3 Brandt, et al. "Farmland Loss in the Western United States: Implications for Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand, and Potential Policy Solutions." ACES Conference, December 2024. Austin, TX. Arnold, B. & Koehn, C. (2025). Analysis and Characterization of Farmland Loss in Idaho. Undergraduate Research Showcase, Boise State University (Boise, ID). Poster. Arnold, B., Boyle, C., & Koehn, C. (2024). Employment and Migration Trends in Two Different Types of Agricultural Land Change. Service Learning/Vertically Integrated Projects Fall Expo, Boise State University (Boise, ID). Poster. d'Aumale, Gwenaelle and Rebecca Som Castellano. 2024. "Investigating Farming Communities' & Households' Adaptations to the Dynamics of Farmland Loss in the Treasure, Magic and Teton Valleys, Idaho." Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society. Madison, WI. d'Aumale, Gwenaelle, Carolyn Koehn, Rebecca Som Castellano, Vicken Hillis, Jen Schneider, and Jodi Brandt. "Investigating Farming Communities' & Households' Adaptations to the Dynamics of Farmland Loss in the Treasure, Magic and Teton Valleys, Idaho. October 17, 2024. Presentation to the American Farmland Trust. New Grant Proposals in Year 3 USDA NIFA AFRI Education and Workforce Development Predoctoral Fellowship; Proposal Number: 2024-13206; Project Director: Carolyn Koehn; Proposal Title: Preserving America's Best Agricultural Land: Farmland Protection Planning Informed by Ecosystem Services Hillis, Vicken (PI), Rebecca L. Som Castellano, David Anderson, Gabrielle Roesch-McNally and Addie Candib. "Protecting Farmland to Build Climate Resilience: A Photovoice Study of Idaho's Agricultural Communities." TRANSFORM Community Engaged Public Scholarship Initiative (CEPSI). $7,500.00. 2024-2025. Hillis, Vicken (PI), Rebecca L. Som Castellano, David Anderson, Gabrielle Roesch-McNally and Addie Candib. "Protecting Farmland to Build Climate Resilience: A Photovoice Study of Idaho's Agricultural Communities." National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. $79,639.00. 2024-2026. Changes/Problems:We have not experienced major challenges and the project is moving forward as planned. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We are training 3 PhD students, and five undergraduate students. The students receive training in the form of coursework and one-on-one work with mentors (including faculty researchers and stakeholders). The PhD students also participate in professional development activities, including community workshops, discussion panels, and festivals focused on farmland protection. The undergraduate students learn data processing and analysis skills in R, an open-source statistical software, and apply these skills to agricultural and demographic data. The undergraduates participate in the full research process by presenting their findings as a research poster at a research showcase. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Providing decision support is a specific objective (Objective 4), and in Year 3 we engaged in several outreach opportunities, including roundtables, tabling at festivals, invited presentations to government and community groups, and invited academic talks. Please refer to the section "Target Audience" in this report for a detailed list of outreach activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are well positioned to achieve all of our project objectives. In particular, for Objectives 1 and 2 we have completed the analyses and the work is under review. For Objective 3, we will continue with data collection, including ongoing participant observation and stakeholder engagement, will complete our semi-structured interviews, and the deployment of a photovoice methodology. For Objective 4, we will continue to engage with stakeholders to learn decision-support needs for the handbook and refine methodology as needed to meet community and scholarly needs.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Halperin, S., Koehn, C., Johnson, K., and Brandt, Jodi S., 2024. Biological Conservation. Systematic Conservation Planning for Private Working Lands: Identifying Agricultural Protection Areas for Climate Solutions, Biodiversity Habitat, and Ecosystem Services.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Brandt, et al. Farmland Loss in the Western United States: Implications for Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand, and Potential Policy Solutions. ACES Conference, December 2024. Austin, TX.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Arnold, B. & Koehn, C. (2025). Analysis and Characterization of Farmland Loss in Idaho. Undergraduate Research Showcase, Boise State University (Boise, ID). Poster.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Arnold, B., Boyle, C., & Koehn, C. (2024). Employment and Migration Trends in Two Different Types of Agricultural Land Change. Service Learning/Vertically Integrated Projects Fall Expo, Boise State University (Boise, ID). Poster.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: dAumale, Gwenaelle and Rebecca Som Castellano. 2024. Investigating Farming Communities & Households Adaptations to the Dynamics of Farmland Loss in the Treasure, Magic and Teton Valleys, Idaho. Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society. Madison, WI.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: dAumale, Gwenaelle, Carolyn Koehn, Rebecca Som Castellano, Vicken Hillis, Jen Schneider, and Jodi Brandt. Investigating Farming Communities & Households Adaptations to the Dynamics of Farmland Loss in the Treasure, Magic and Teton Valleys, Idaho. October 17, 2024. Presentation to the American Farmland Trust.

Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:We conducted a wide variety of efforts to engage diverse stakeholders. General types of efforts included: Invited speaker and panel presentations at workshops and planning events. Tabling at a local open-air festival focused on agricultural appreciation. In-person meetings and conference calls with other actors actively engaged in farmland protection (e.g. agricultural industry, city planners, land trusts). Experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate student researchers. Development of a web presence on the Boise State system Year 2 Specific stakeholder engagement activities included: May 16th 2023 - ID AG roundtable June 6th 2023 - Jerome Rotary Meeting August 15th 2023 - Presentation of research plan to AFT roundtable September 13th 2023 - Attended the SAFRIG virtual conference on U.S. Farm households' social and economic needs and the future of agriculture September 14th 2023 - Attended IEF forum September 19th 2023 - Proposal Showcase September 29th 2023 - Attended AFHVS Webinar on Social Science Funding Opportunities at USDA NIFA October 14th 2023 - Attended the Northwest Evolution, Ecology, and Human Behavior Symposium October 23/24 2023 - Teton Participant Observation and Working Lands Group Attendance + Interviews November 15th 2023 - Soil Health Economics with Pat Purdy - Idaho Farmer Learning Network in Twin Falls November 27/29th 2023 - Teton Participant Observation and Working Lands Group Attendance + Interviews February 6th 2024 - Proposal Showcase February 9th 2024 - Attended Harvest and Hearth Conference for IASCD February 22nd 2024 - AFT Roundtable February 27th 2024 - Attended Innovations in California Agricultural Land Protection Webinar May 16th 2024 - AFT Roundtable Our stakeholder efforts engaged diverse audiences, as listed below: Representatives of agricultural industry NRCS Ada Soil & Water Conservation District Individual farmers Crookham Seed Company Eastern Idaho Seed Growers Association Idaho Farm Bureau Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts Idaho Department of Agriculture Idaho Historic Preservation Consultant Idaho Smart Growth Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Payette Soil & Water Conservation District Non-profits focused on farmland preservation Land Trust of the Treasure Valley American Farmland Trust Friends of the Teton River Treasure Valley Food Coalition Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts The Nature Conservancy General Public - Press releases and interviews Table at a regional "Treasure our Valley" festival about agriculture in Idaho Boise State Public Radio City and County Planners Boise City Ada County Adams County Canyon County Compass: Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho Canyon County Development Services Owyhee County Community Development Payette County Planning and Zoning Teton County Faculty researchers and students The project integrates 4 faculty researchers from multiple disciplines and provides training for 3 PhD students and 5undergraduates who are women and/or racial minorities. In addition, we have integrated training in undergraduate research as a key component in our project. We have conducted the following activities focused on undergraduate education: K-12 May 9, 2024: Planned and led AI station at STEAM fair for 50 8th grade students at Heritage Community Charter School, a rural, majority Hispanic school. Undergraduate research mentorship Fall 2023: Led team of two undergraduate students in investigating potential data indicators in the Census of Agriculture for an archetype analysis of farmland loss in Idaho. Focused on teaching R as a career skill throughout. Spring 2024: Continued project from Fall 2023 with 4 undergraduate students (1 returning, 3 new). Culminated in poster presentation at Undergraduate Research Showcase. Creation of teaching resources for undergraduate education Fall 2023-Spring 2024: Developed 5 research modules for undergraduate research team that teach data analysis skills in R with a focus on publicly available agricultural and demographic data. Summer 2024: Developed 60-minute lesson plan on neural networks as part of comprehensive exams. Changes/Problems:We have not experienced major challenges and the project is moving forward as planned. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We are training 3 PhD students, and five undergraduate students, three of whom are women and/or otherwise underrepresented in science. The students receive training in the form of coursework and one-on-one work with mentors (including faculty researchers and stakeholders). The PhD students also participate in professional development activities, including community workshops, discussion panels, and festivals focused on farmland protection. The undergraduate students learn data processing and analysis skills in R, an open-source statistical software, and apply these skills to agricultural and demographic data. The undergraduates participate in the full research process by presenting their findings as a research poster at a research showcase. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Providing decision support is a specific objective (Objective 4), and in Year 1 we engaged in several outreach opportunities, including roundtables, tabling at festivals, invited presentations to government and community groups, and invited academic talks. Please refer to the section "Target Audience" in this report for a detailed list of outreach activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are well positioned to achieve all of our project objectives. In particular, for Objective 1, we will finalize the ES analysis and prepare and submit 1 manuscript for peer review. For Objective 2, we have a manuscript focused on the Treasure Valley study area in review, and we will finalize the analysis and begin writing for the entire Snake River Plain. For Objective 3, we will continue with data collection, including ongoing participant observation and stakeholder engagement, semi-structured interviews, and survey development. For Objective 4, we will continue to engage with stakeholders to learn decision-support needs for the handbook and refine methodology as needed to be need community and scholarly needs.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Johnson, K.K., Paudel, J., Parton, L.C., Theresa, N.-M., Williamson, M.A., Brandt, J.S., 2024. Is publicly funded private land conservation effective? A case-study of PACE programs in the U.S. Presented at the Western Economics Assoc Intl Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Boyle, A., Arnold, B., Cichomska, M., Haws, T., & Koehn, C. (2024, April 19). Impacts of Two Typologies of Agricultural land Loss in Idaho. Undergraduate Research Showcase, Boise State University (Boise, ID). Poster.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Halperin, S., Koehn, C., Johnson, K., and Brandt, Jodi S., Accepted. Biological Conservation. Systematic Conservation Planning for Private Working Lands: Identifying Agricultural Protection Areas for Climate Solutions, Biodiversity Habitat, and Ecosystem Services.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2024 Citation: Johnson, et al. Picking up the PACE: an empirical analysis of conservation outcomes in the presence of payments for agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs. In review at Journal of Environmental Management.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Halperin, S. Balancing Societal Needs for Agricultural Land: Insights, Innovations, and Conservation Priorities. Dissertation Defense. Boise State University, Boise, ID. October 3rd, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Koehn, C. R. (2023, September 19). Data-Driven and Ecosystem Services-Informed Approaches to Farmland Protection. Graduate Proposal Showcase, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United States. Lightning talk and poster.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Koehn, C. (2024, June 17). A data-driven approach to identifying archetypes of farmland loss as a result of population growth and socio-economic development in a rapidly changing agricultural landscape in the western United States. International Research Workshop on Archetype Analysis in Sustainability Research, University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC, United States.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: d'Aumale, G. (2024, February 6). Investigating Rural Communities' Views & Adaptations to the Dynamics of Farmlans Loss in the Treasure, Magic and Teton Valleys, Idaho. Graduate Proposal Showcase, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United States. Lightning talk and poster.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: d'Aumale, G. (2023, November 5). 5 minute research design and recruitment pitch to the RANI network. Twin Falls, Idaho.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: d'Aumale, G; Koehn, C; Som Castellano, R. (2023, August 15). Integrating insights from social and spatial science to provide practical guidance for farmland protection. American Farmland Trust AG Roundtable Presentation.

Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:We conducted a wide variety of efforts to engage diverse stakeholders. General types of efforts included: Invited speaker and panel presentations at workshops and planning events. Tabling at a local open-air festival focused on agricultural appreciation. In-person meetings and conference calls with other actors actively engaged in farmland protection (e.g. agricultural industry, city planners, land trusts). Experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate student researchers. Development of a web presence on the Boise State system Specific stakeholder engagement activities included: Idaho Round Table, quarterly stakeholder events organized by American Farmland Trust. Spring, Summer, Fall 2022. Spring 2023 Idaho Smart Growth Summit. September, 2022. Boise, Idaho Treasure our Valley, Celebration of Farmland event. Table. October, 2022, Caldwell, Idaho. Annual meeting of the Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts (ICOLT), September 2022, Boise, Idaho Individual meeting with head of land use planning of the City of Boise, October, 2022. City Hall, Boise, Idaho Idaho Interfaith Roundtable Against Hunger Spring Forum - April 18th, 2023, Ustick Public Library, AFT and IORC presenters (Rebecca) Development of plan for stakeholder engagement throughout spring 2023 (and into summer 2023)... this involved regular meetings with the Social Science team Individual meetings (x2) with Megan Dixon, a stakeholder and academic in Canyon county engaged in farmland loss and protection Our stakeholder efforts engaged diverse audiences, as listed below: Representatives of agricultural industry NRCS Ada Soil & Water Conservation District Individual farmers Crookham Seed Company Eastern Idaho Seed Growers Association Idaho Farm Bureau Idaho Center for Sustainable Agriculture Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts Idaho Department of Agriculture Idaho Historic Preservation Consultant Idaho Smart Growth Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Payette Soil & Water Conservation District Non-profits focused on farmland preservation Land Trust of the Treasure Valley American Farmland Trust Friends of the Teton River Treasure Valley Food Coalition Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts The Nature Conservancy General Public - Press releases and interviews Table at a regional "Treasure our Valley" festival about agriculture in Idaho Boise State Public Radio City and County Planners Boise City Ada County Adams County Canyon County Compass: Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho Canyon County Development Services Owyhee County Community Development Payette County Planning and Zoning Teton County Faculty researchers and students The project integrates 4 faculty researchers from multiple disciplines and provides training for 3 PhD students and 2 undergraduates who are women and/or racial minorities. In addition, we have integrated training in undergraduate research as a key component in our project. We have conducted the following activities focused on undergraduate education: K-12 May 4, 2023: Planned and led AI station at STEAM fair for 50 8th grade students at Heritage Community Charter School, a rural, majority Hispanic school. Undergraduate research mentorship Spring 2023: Led team of two undergraduate students in a literature review of cover crop research and practice in the inland Pacific Northwest. Creation of teaching resources for undergraduate education May 2023: Developed a module of two lectures and two homework assignments on systematic conservation planning using R package prioritizr for an intended audience of undergraduate students Changes/Problems:We have not experienced major challenges and the project is moving forward as planned. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We are training 3 PhD students, and two undergraduate students all of whom are women and/or otherwise underrepresented in science. The students receive training in the form of coursework and one-on-one work with mentors (including faculty researchers and stakeholders). The PhD students also participate in professional development activities, including community workshops, discussion panels, and festivals focused on farmland protection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Providing decision support is a specific objective (Objective 4), and in Year 1 we engaged in several outreach opportunities, including roundtables, tabling at festivals, invited presentations to government and community groups, and invited academic talks. Please refer to the section "Target Audience" in this report for a detailed list of outreach activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are well positioned to achieve all of our project objectives. In particular, for Objective 1, we will finalize the ES analysis and prepare 1 manuscript for peer review. For Objective 2, we will submit 1 manuscript focused on the Treasure Valley study area, and finalize the analysis and begin writing for the entire Snake River Plain. For Objective 3, we will publish a white paper in Summer 2023, engage in enhanced literature review and training of graduate students, and begin data collection for the expanded study region. For Objective 4, we will continue to engage with stakeholders to learn decision-support needs for the handbook and refine methodology as needed to be need community and scholarly needs.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Halperin, S., Castro, A.J., Quintas-Soriano, C., Brandt, J.S., 2023. Assessing high quality agricultural lands through the ecosystem services lens: Insights from a rapidly urbanizing agricultural region in the western United States. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 349, 108435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108435
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: White Paper Report: Halperin, S., Schneider, J., Som Castellano, R., Brandt, J.S., 2023. Understanding arguments to protect farmland in idaho: innovative solutions and community insights to drive policy change [white paper]. Boise State University.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2023 Citation: Johnson, K, L. Parton, J. Paudel, M. Williamson, T. Nogiere-McRae, and J. Brandt. In review. "Moving to the Country: Understanding the Effects of Covid-19 on Property Values and Farmland Development Risk" Journal of Housing Economics
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Requena-Mullor, J.*, J. Brandt, M. Williamson, T. Caughlin. 2022. Human population growth and accessibility from cities shape rangeland condition in the American West . Landscape and Urban Planning. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104673