SUMMER 2022 MALT.ORG
Coming Together in the Face of Drought As we sink into the summer months, our local farms and ranches are bracing for the driest season in another historically dry year. The first three months of 2022, a time when Marin typically receives the bulk of its annual rainfall, were the singularly driest such period on record—exacerbating what has become the West’s most extensive and intense drought in recorded history. In response to this crisis, we launched our Drought Resilience and Water Security (DRAWS) initiative in the spring of 2021. DRAWS awards grants of up to $15,000 to local landowners to design and implement long-term water infrastructure projects. And, to date, the initiative has been a tremendous success with 49 approved projects, of which 35 have been completed and reimbursed. Building upon this success and responding to ongoing need, in April 2022, the MALT Board approved an additional $250,000 allocation in funding in order to have even more
impact, bringing the total to $750,000 in funding for DRAWS since spring 2021. As with the first two phases of the initiative, all Marin ranchers and farmers are eligible to apply for DRAWS grants, regardless of whether their property is protected by a MALT agricultural conservation easement. For many, these timely investments are key to the survival of their small agricultural businesses and provide the support they need to continue producing our region’s food supply. This work would not be possible without the generosity of MALT donors. DRAWS IMPACT 13 freshwater springs redeveloped 41 water storage tanks installed (141,850 gallons) 19 water pumps connected 60,350 feet of irrigation piping installed