Exploring the Land-Water Intersection in the San Joaquin Valley

Land and water resources are both critical to agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley and other Mediterranean climates in California. These resources are under pressure from a variety of factors that have the potential to significantly affect the food production capacity of a region essential to the food security of the state, nation and the world. The most significant challenges include water supply, climate change, soil impairment, urban development, and environmental factors such as in-stream water needs. 

American Farmland Trust has partnered with the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) , creator of Data Basin, to conduct a spatial analysis to determine where agricultural land and water resources are most at risk from these challenges. 

This webinar will present a scientific system for evaluating land and water resources, and maps of the region showing how that system can geographically differentiate these resources based on their inherent qualities and stresses on them from things like drought, regulatory decisions, climate change and urban development. Both the system and maps will be preliminary versions on which we want to get your feedback. We will then take your input, revise the system and maps, and bring them back to you at a March workshop for further discussion. 

Visit this page to learn more about the project, and see some of the data driving this analysis on the San Joaquin Valley Gateway.