Rural Vermont warns conservation planning may leave farmland unprotected, calls for broader land‑access reforms
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Summary
Caroline Sherman Borden told the committee that conservation planning under Act 51 and regional mapping under Act 181 have proceeded with inadequate agricultural input, and that conservation easements alone may not keep land affordable or available for future farmers; she urged substantive land‑access reform.
Caroline Sherman Borden, legislative director of Rural Vermont, told the committee that the state's planning work under the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act (Act 51 of 2023) is entering a planning phase that, in her view, has insufficient agriculture representation and public engagement.
Borden said the technical advisory committee for the conservation plan includes a single farmer who was not part of the inventory phase and that housing and conservation board leadership and ANR had not, to her knowledge, reached out to agricultural stakeholders to inform how agricultural lands should be conserved. "We did not have any say in how agricultural lands should be considered in this process," she said.
She warned the committee that conservation easements — while an important tool — can be inadequate because they are voluntary and may result in farmland being priced beyond the reach of the next generation when retirement or development occurs. Borden also raised concerns about Act 181 and regional planning commissions rewriting future land‑use maps without distinct agricultural maps, saying the maps can obscure where land will remain available for food production.
On accessory on‑farm businesses, Borden described a member legal dispute over farm structures and said Rural Vermont is not pushing statutory change this session because members are pursuing legal remedies; she cautioned that proposed changes could require permits for routine farm events and add substantial bureaucracy. Borden also noted federal advocacy on the Local Foods Act to clarify on‑farm slaughter under federal law.
Rural Vermont asked for a more substantive legislative process and broader stakeholder engagement on land access and conservation planning; no formal committee action occurred during this appearance.