TY - JOUR T1 - Prioritizing farmland preservation cost-effectively for multiple objectives JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Y1 - 2006 A1 - Machado, E. A. A1 - Stoms, D. M. A1 - Davis, F. W. A1 - Kreitler, J. KW - amenities KW - Bay Delta bioregion KW - California Legacy Project KW - conservation planning KW - cost-effectiveness KW - decision analysis KW - ecosystem services KW - farmland preservation KW - GIS KW - marginal value KW - public preferences KW - social welfare KW - urban growth boundary KW - urban growth management KW - utility AB - American society derives many benefits from farmland and is often willing to pay to preserve it from urbanization. We present an innovative framework to support farmland preservation programs in prioritizing conservation investments. The framework considers the full range of social benefits of farmland and improves the application of decision analysis methods to the process. Key factors for ranking farms are: 1) social objectives and priorities 2) how much farmland value is expected to be lost to development if not preserved, 3) how much farmland value is already secured in the agricultural region; and 4) how much it will cost to secure the farm's benefits. The framework can be applied strategically over an entire region or to rank a set of applications from landowners. We demonstrate our framework using three criteria in the Bay Area/Delta bioregion of California, USA. VL - 61 UR - ://000242001800007 ER -