Conservation Resources

A conservation easement allows a landowner to donate or sell some or all of the development rights on their land. The landowner retains ownership of the land, and can pass it down to heirs or sell the land. Only the rights outlined in the easement are transferred. 

Here is a link to VOF ‘s Easement Template: View it here.

Voluntary conservation easements are one of the most effective ways to conserve the Commonwealth’s historic landscapes, farmland, and natural systems. Click here to view a map of conservation lands in Virginia: Lands Database.

2018 Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Requirements Manual

Land Trust Standards and Practices are guidelines to help land trusts operate in ethically, technically and legally sound ways.  See the updated document.

Accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance assures prospective easement donors that a land trust is operating by those standards. Learn more here.

Virginia Land Conservation Foundation: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/virginia-land-conservation-foundation/

Land Preservation Tax Credit: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/land-conservation/lpc

Farmland Preservation/Purchase of Development Rights: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/conservation-and-environmental-farmland-preservation-tools.shtml

The Trust for Public Land, Virginia’s Return on Investment in Land Conservation, report. The study was conducted by the Trust for Public Land in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and VIRGINIAforever, and shows that for every $1 invested by the state in land conservation, $4 in natural goods and services is returned to Virginia’s economy.