Natural Resources

Land Preservation

Land Preservation

Rich, diverse natural resources are some of the chief jewels in Virginia's crown. Increasingly, Virginia government and citizens are partnering to preserve the Commonwealth's open spaces -- a challenge that requires foresight, commitment and good planning.

Why is This Important?

Of all the development that has occurred in the last 400 years, more than a quarter of it has taken place just in the last 15 years. Good stewardship means taking action to ensure that the natural, cultural and historic resources treasured by Virginians are available for future generations to enjoy. Protecting land also helps meet important goals for water quality, wildlife habitat, recreation and overall quality of life.

How is Virginia Doing?

Counting the combined efforts of private and public entities, an average of 72,211 acres per year were protected from development in Virginia between 2001 and 2008.  In 2007 and 2008 alone, an additional 265,026 acres were placed under protection, making significant progress toward an ambitious 400,000-acre goal by 2010.

According to the state's best estimate, as of July 2009 over 3.57 million acres of open space, parks, historic lands, natural areas, forests, farms and other lands have been preserved by federal, state and local governments, and private conservation organizations. These lands -- kept free of development through land ownership and easements -- represent about 14.1 percent of the Commonwealth's total acreage (25,270,000 acres). Slightly less than two-thirds (65 percent) of the preserved lands are held by the federal government, 26 percent by the state, about 4 percent by local governments and 5 percent by private/nonprofit organizations.

Land Preservation in Virginia, 2000-2008

Fiscal Year	Total Statewide Acreage Preserved	Annual Acreage Preserved
2000	2,988,981
2001	3,026,276	37,295
2002	3,083,596	57,320
2003	3,131,116	47,520
2004	3,190,744	59,628
2005	3,236,383	45,639
2006	3,301,642	65,259
2007	3,394,278	92,636
2008	3,566,668	172,390
Source: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's Conservation Lands Database

The Commonwealth also participates in the Chesapeake Bay Program, a partnership focused on restoring the Bay and committing to specific land preservation and environmental goals. Among the many provisions of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement is an ambitious commitment to permanently preserve 20 percent of watershed lands in each participating state by 2010. Available data shows that Virginia, as of June 2009, has preserved 2,541,105 of its 13,831,890 Chesapeake Bay watershed acres -- or 18.4 percent.

Among the regions, the Valley region had the largest percentage of preserved land in 2008, with 35.5 percent preserved. The Northern region had the second highest at 17.9 percent. The Southside region had the smallest percent of preserved land at 2.4 percent, followed by the Central region at 9.3 percent.

Land Preservation by Virginia Region, 2008

Region	Preserved Land (in sq. miles)	Preserved Land as Percent of Total
Central	859	9.3%
Eastern	269	13.6%
Northern	545	17.9%
Southside	153	2.4%
Southwest	810	12.7%
Hampton Roads	327	13.8%
Valley	1,822	35.5%
West Central	787	15.5%
Virginia	5,573	14.1%
Source: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's Conservation Lands Database

What Influences Land Preservation?

Citizens across the Commonwealth have been voluntarily placing conservation easements on their lands since 1966. Many of these easements are held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), which holds more conservation easements -- over 2,400 easements protecting more than 535,000 acres -- than any public land trust in the nation. Private and non-profit organizations also play a key role in conserving important lands in the Commonwealth.

State and federal tax incentives make donations of conservation easements financially possible for some landowners. For many others, conservation is only feasible if a land trust or government agency can make the purchase. Land preservation in Virginia is currently driven by a combination of citizen donations, state and federal tax incentives, local government activities and federal funding. Federal funds for land conservation programs have been declining in recent years.

Local government programs for the purchase of development rights (PDR) are gradually taking hold in Virginia. Under these programs, localities purchase conservation easements from farmers and other landowners in order to keep some land in the area free of development. Currently 21 localities have instituted PDR programs, of which 17 have some level of funding; four other localities are in the process of adopting a program.

What is the State's Role?

The Commonwealth conserves land by:

• purchasing lands for public use
• giving tax incentives to private landowners for conservation
• matching grants from land trusts that purchase land and easements

Virginia has a number of state entities whose mission includes the protection of important lands:

• the Department of Conservation and Recreation
• the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
• the Department of Forestry
• the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
• the Department of Historic Resources, and
• the Virginia Outdoors Foundation

These agencies advise landowners on conservation options, buy land, hold conservation easements and maintain databases that track various land attributes. The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation makes matching grants to land trusts and local governments.

What Can Citizens Do?

Individuals and groups are strongly encouraged to be active participants in resource management. To learn more about Virginia's environment, stewardship and public participation opportunities, and the partners engaged in conservation, please visit Virginia Naturally or the Virginia Conservation Network.