When the Farmland and Natural Areas Program began in 2003, the county's land protection goal was to protect 5,000 to 10,000 acres. To date, the county has protected over 12,000 acres. Several new projects are in varying stages of completion. See the most recent
Land Conservation Map Summary.
As of June 2024, the county completed 156 land protection projects, including :
- 71 permanent agricultural conservation easements, totaling 7,812 acres
- 55 permanent natural area conservation easements, totaling 1,970 acres
- 30 fee acquisition projects with other public entities, totaling 2,264 acres
The c​ounty has spent almost $23.6 million in county funds (26 percent), leveraged more than $38.7 million in non-county funds (44 percent) and received almost $26.4 million in landowner donations (30 percent) to protect these lands valued at more than $88.7 million​.
Federal source
State sources
Other sources of non-county funding include the Friends of the Mississippi River and significant landowner donations of easement value.
Examples of some of the completed natural area protection projects are: