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Soil Investigations for Data Collection in the Delta Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration 26 Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (1997, as updated) prepared by the California Department of Conservation as an optional model to use in assessing impacts on agriculture and farmland. In determining whether impacts to forest resources, including timberland, are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to information compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) regarding the state’s inventory of forest land, including the Forest and Range Assessment Project and the Forest Legacy Assessment Project; and forest carbon measurement methodology provided in Forest Protocols adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) 3.2.1 Environmental Setting The Study Area spans the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta including portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo Counties, and includes agricultural and forest landscapes. Agricultural lands are defined as important farmland by the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program of the California Department of Conservation (DOC), as well as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 (Williamson Act) contract lands. Forestry resources are lands defined as forest land, including timberland in the Z'berg-Warren-Keene-Collier Forest Taxation Reform Act 1976 (Tax Reform Act). 3.2.1.1 Farmland Important farmland is categorized by DOC as prime farmland, farmland of statewide importance, unique farmland, and farmland of local importance. These categories consider physical and chemical features including soil quality, growing season, and moisture supply to rate the type of land that is currently, or was during the previous four years, used for agricultural purposes (DOC 2019a). Within each of the above counties, agriculture is the predominant use of land, with almost 1.5 million acres of important farmland designated in all of the counties in the Study Area combined. Of the proposed on-land soil investigation sites within the Study Area, approximately 80% of these sites are located on mapped important farmland (DOC 2016a). 3.2.1.2 Williamson Act Lands California has some of the most productive land in the world. It has been managed by Native Americans, early settlers, and now by federal, State, and local agencies. Rapid conversion of California farmland and forest land to other uses led the state to create programs under the Williamson Act (1965) and the Tax Reform Act (1976) to protect these lands from conversion through tax incentives (CalFire 2018). Under the Williamson Act (1965), local governments can enter into contracts with private property owners to protect land (within agricultural preserves) for agricultural and open space purposes. The program took off when it was added to the state’s Constitution allowing for preferential assessments. Some counties are phasing out the Williamson Act Lands as they no longer receive financial assistance from the state in