Lecture Looks At Farmland Conservation

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by jennifer.sauer Wednesday, 04 November 2009 17:46

An upcoming lecture at UM will explore strategies to curb the loss of Western Montana's valuable working farms and ranches to development pressure.

Contact: Neva Hassanein, associate professor, UM Environmental Studies Program, 406-243-6271, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

LECTURE LOOKS AT FARMLAND CONSERVATION

MISSOULA –

An upcoming lecture at The University of Montana will explore strategies to curb the loss of Western Montana’s valuable working farms and ranches to development pressure.

The lecture, “Grassroots Farmland Conservation: Time-Tested Strategies Crafted by Landowners, Producers and Communities Across the U.S.,” will be presented by Bob Wagner, senior director of farmland protection programs with American Farmland Trust.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in UM’s Gallagher Business Building Room 123. It is free and open to the public.

Wagner’s visit is sponsored by the UM Environmental Studies Program and the Community Food and Agriculture Coalition of Missoula County. Through his work with American Farmland Trust, Wagner has helped communities across the country build support for and create policies to protect agricultural land since 1985.

He is co-author of several publications, including “Protecting Farmland Through Purchase of Development Rights: The Farmers’ Perspective” and “Investing in the Future of Agriculture: The Massachusetts Farmland Protection Program and the Permanence Syndrome.” He also was a contributing writer for AFT’s national guidebook on farmland protection techniques, “Saving American Farmland: What Works.”

Wagner holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania  and a master’s degree in natural resources planning from the University of Vermont. More information is available at http://www.farmland.org/about/leadership/wagner.asp.


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