The Agriculture Water Quality Alliance is a regional collaboration of agriculture industry groups, federal, state, and local agencies, technical experts, environmental organizations and university researchers working to carry out the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan. Working to protect water quality within the watersheds that drain to the Sanctuary, farmers and ranchers are using management practices on their properties to reduce runoff in the form of sediments, nutrients and pesticides.

The Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan lays out voluntary strategies to increase technical assistance and education, identify funding for conservation projects, coordinate and streamline the existing permitting system as it relates to implementing erosion control practices, and improving maintenance practices for rural roadways and public lands.

With a mix of federal, state, and private funding, AWQA is coordinating efforts to protect regional water quality, working in many watersheds throughout the six-county area. The effort is guided by a Steering Committee based on input from farmers, ranchers and agriculture industry groups.

Background

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the largest marine protected area in the United States and includes over 5000 square miles of water off California's Central Coast. Spanning from Marin to Cambria, the Sanctuary boasts the greatest biodiversity in temperate regions of the world. It is home to numerous plant and animal species, including 33 species of marine mammals and 345 species of fish.

Central Coast Agriculture
California's Central Coast is also home to another national treasure: rich agricultural lands. The region supports a 3.5 billion dollar agricultural industry, produces over 200 types of crops, and employs more than 60,000 people. Crops range from nurseries and brussel sprouts along the fog-shrouded San Mateo coast to the diverse row crops, berries and apple orchards of the warm Pajaro Valley. Rolling grazing lands, vineyards, and forests occupy the slopes of these valleys.

The Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan
Agriculture and the Sanctuary's plants and animals are linked by the drainage patterns of the local watersheds as water flows from the mountains to the flood plains and rivers, and out to sea. The Sanctuary’s Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) works in over 7500 square miles of watersheds that drain into the ocean. The Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan, with 24 voluntary strategies to reduce agricultural runoff, was developed with extensive input from agriculture industry groups, resource agencies, and environmental groups.

Agriculture Industry Leadership
The agriculture industry plays a leadership role in protecting water quality in our area. The Agricultural Water Quality Coalition (Coalition) represents six County Farm Bureaus whose watersheds drain to the Sanctuary. The Coalition has been organizing Watershed Working Groups comprised of agricultural landowners and managers along local streams and rivers. These groups work together to identify local water quality issues and implement conservation projects.