Description
The State of Utah has created the Larae McCallister Critical Land Conservation Fund, which is administered through the Utah Quality Growth Commission. It consists of money appropriated or otherwise made available by the legislature to aid in the protection of open lands. Open Lands means lands that are preserved in a restored, or predominantly natural open or undeveloped condition and used for wildlife habitat, cultural or recreational use, watershed protection or other use consistent with the preservation of land or in restoration of land to a predominantly natural open and undeveloped condition. Open land does not include land for active recreational activities such as baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, or other similar activities. The presence or development of facilities, including trails, waterways, and grassy areas, that enhance the qualities of the land or facilitate the public's access to or use of the land may be consistent with open land purposes.

Limitations
Funds can only be granted to Utah's local governments, the Department of Natural Resources, The Department of Agriculture and Food or charitable organizations that qualify as tax exempt under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Successful applicants must provide a match equal to or greater than the amount received from the Fund. Money from the fund must be used to purchase conservation easements or fee title of open lands and agricultural lands. Fee interest purchases of land must be for parcels less than 20 acres in size. In counties where 50% or more of the total land mass is publicly owned, a parcel of similar size must be transferred from public to private ownership. Each interest in real property, purchased with money from the fund, must be held by a state, county, or municipal government entity. Money from the fund may also be used to restore open land or agricultural land.

Examples
A list of six projects, detailing location, acreage, funds allocated, matching funds and their totals, as well as descriptions of each project, can be viewed at: http://governor.utah.gov/planning/opland/allocation.htm

Contacts
The funding application schedule, the Pre-application, Application, and Evaluation Criteria forms for this Conservation Fund are available in HTML or PDF formats at: http://governor.utah.gov/planning/opland/Fund2000.htm

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Funding
Protection & Conservation