The Dakota County Farmland and Natural Areas Program (FNAP) is a voluntary program in which Dakota County and other partners work with willing landowners to achieve mutual land protection and natural resource stewardship goals through the acquisition of conservation easements or fee title. The overall goal of the program is to protect large, contiguous, agricultural areas, while providing water quality and wildlife habitat benefits; and to protect, connect and manage priority natural areas. For more background information, go back to the main topic list and click on Program Summary and Overview.
Why should I enroll in the program – and how?
If you are a landowner who wants to 
protect your land for future generations to farm or for future residents to enjoy, FNAP can help you do that. You still own your land; you can still use it; you can still sell it; it will just never be developed. For additional information, go back to the main topic list and click on Landowner Fact Sheets.
For a pre-application, which can be submitted at any time, go back to the main topic list and click on 2010 Application Round Forms.
Has the program been successful?
The original goal of the program was to protect 5,000 to 10,000 acres over ten years. In the first five years, 2,224 acres of farmland and 1,052 acres of natural areas have been protected. Another 17 projects, totaling an additional 2,744 acres, are in varying stages of completion. The value for the 6,022 acres is $71.8 million. However, by leveraging non-county funding and landowner donation, the total county cost is 23% or $16.2 million. Each year, the number of submitted applications increases. Some landowners have enrolled some of their property in the program every year since the first application round. The program has received several awards for excellence. For more information on program successes and benefits, click on Program Results.
How did the program get started?
Dakota County citizens have voiced their opinions through countywide surveys over the past several years – they are concerned about the rapid growth in the county and the loss of open space. County citizens reaffirmed their commitment to protect and preserve open space when they passed a $20 million bond referendum in 2002, with the funding to be used to purchase development rights and establish permanent farmland and natural areas easements. For more information on how the program was established, go back to the main topic list and click on Program History.
I don’t own any land; how can I get involved in the program?
The County Board of Commissioners appoints a 14-member, citizen Advisory Committee (AC), two members from each of the seven commissioner districts. Committee members review and evaluate the applications submitted each year, they score and rank them, and recommend projects to the County Board for approval. AC members must rotate off the committee after three consecutive two-year terms. For more information on the duties of the AC and becoming involved in the program, go back to the main topic list and click on Advisory Committee.
Where is land being preserved and protected?
For a map showing protected land in Dakota County, click on the attachment below.
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