Over the next two decades, major agricultural regions of California will transition to sustainable use of groundwater, as mandated by the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Balancing groundwater demand and supply will require shifting to less water-intensive agriculture and, in some cases, taking land out of production. As regions face these land use changes, how can new opportunities for farmers and rural communities be created?

Farmers can fund project(s) through more traditional sources, like grants from state and federal agencies, or sell habitat credits to a buyer who has mitigation needs through a mitigation credit agreement (MCA).

A unique feature of RCIS plans is that they enable landowners to develop mitigation credit agreements, a new tool that can allow farmers to get paid to create high-quality habitat as “credits” to agencies or other entities that need to meet permit requirements.