California's Pilot Land Retirement Program

As part of a land-retirement program, state and federal agencies are buying 8,000 acres in Kings and Tulare counties and replacing the water-intensive alfalfa and cotton crops with native wildflowers and shrubs. The program is part of a five-year pilot project to test habitat-restorationmethods. If it is successful, it will serve as a template for larger land-retirement programs. Critics of the program worry about a drop in property-tax revenue, job losses and a dwindling population as former farmers leave the area.