One barrier to voluntary partnerships to implement practices designed to control erosion and enhance natural values on farms has been the real fear that regulatory review costs too much, takes too much time, and drowns the farmer in a sea of red tape. A new one-stop permit "shopping" program implemented in the Elkhorn Slough Watershed located along the Central Coast in Monterey County promises to change that view.

Summer 1998 saw the implementation of 15 conservation projects initiated by farmers in that watershed. First year net environmental and economic gains are exciting. Approximately 12,024 fewer tons of valuable soils will flow from upstream fields and creeks into the Slough and, ultimately, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary waters. A bit more than a mile of stream bank and channel were also enhanced.

The program, called Partners in Restoration, was led by the San Francisco-based environmental nonprofit organization Sustainable Conservation, in tandem with the Salinas office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Working in concert with seven public agencies, they created a program that streamlines regulatory review and eliminated common fees associated with permits.

The approach has been to engage people in conservation by understanding management problems and crafting solutions to those problems. "This program proves it is possible to make a case for conservation based on local economics," commented Lynn Dwyer, spokesman for Sustainable Conservation. Daniel Mountjoy, NRCS, another program architect, believe that you must remove the obstacles preventing farmers from doing the right thing by helping them find ways to simultaneously improve the productivity of their land and the health of the entire watershed.

After two years of design and review, watershed-based permits were issued to NRCS and the RCD of Monterey County that allow the use of ten best management practices in conservation plans prepared by them for farms in the area. The BMPs have been extensively reviewed, and conditioned by federal, state, and local agencies. When a farmer walks in the door of the NRCS Elkhorn Slough Watershed Project to request technical and cost share assistance to deal with erosion or flooding, they can implement projects under this permit umbrella. The major caveat is that they must agree to implement the project using the standards developed with the agencies. An added benefit is that all public agencies waived fees for farmers participating in this effort.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service was one of the agencies who understood that obtaining permits is often a disincentive for farmers and helped craft the standards. "We welcome the opportunity for streamlining the process where we can because it is extremely important for the resource," remarked Amelia Orton-Palmer, the Services representative on this project.

While it is often hard to design a program to meet the mandates of seven agencies, it's still user-friendly. The Rod McLellan Company was concerned about the complex and potentially lengthy process involved in permitting and had heard it was difficult to coordinate with the different agencies. But they needed a drainage system before winter and the NRCS recommended a system that buffered the nearby riparian corridor from erosion and runoff. When the company learned about the one-stop permit shopping program, they were eager to move ahead and found the process very straightforward.

As Orton-Palmer observed, the project was important for the resource. McLellan had a centrl role in implementing the project based on agency standards. "That role made them think more closely about their responsibilities as land stewards," commented Jim Flagg, new crops manager at McLellan. "The McLellans really wanted to do the right thing with this piece of property, and I think we've succeeded in doing it."

This success was supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and Environment Now.