MIDDLEBURG, Va., April 3, 2023 – The Land Trust of Virginia (LTV) is pleased to announce they have been awarded a one-year grant by Virginia’s United Land Trusts (VaULT) that is generously funded by Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF). LTV will receive $12,000 for their project titled Implementation of Remote Monitoring Software: Lens.
This grant program, now in its second year, was created in recognition of the critical importance of accelerating land conservation throughout the Commonwealth and to highlight the power of partnership between state agencies and nonprofit land trusts. Historically state agencies have taken the majority of conservation easements, but over the last decade, Virginia’s nonprofit land trust community and specifically VaULT members, have significantly increased the number of properties they are conserving each year. The percentage of the total number of easements completed by nonprofit land trusts has increased from 17% in 2015 to 49% in 2020. Of that 49%, 47% was completed by VaULT members. LTV, an accredited land trust and VaULT member, currently holds more easements than any other nonprofit land trust in Virginia.
“Remote monitoring has become an important tool for land trusts to effectively steward easement properties across our expansive Commonwealth,” said LTV Executive Director, Ashton Cole. “We have identified a subset of our easements that are eligible for remote monitoring based on several factors, including distance from our headquarters, property size and nature of uses. This will allow us to not only save valuable travel time, but also lessen our organization’s carbon footprint. We anticipate yet again increasing our easement intake ability in 2023 due to implementing this software. We really appreciate having received this grant and we’re grateful for the many ways VOF and VaULT support conservation in Virginia.”
Last year, LTV completed 21 easements for a total of 4,642 acres protected, compared to 3,041 acres in 2022. These new easements expanded our footprint into seven new localities, resulting in LTV now holding easements in 31 counties across Virginia. As Cole further noted, “The interest from the public in the work we do is growing every year. We feel we’re in a position to respond to the increased demand for land conservation, but it wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful partners across the state, and our wonderful supporters and donors who enable us to sustain these efforts on a daily basis.” For more information about LTV’s work, please visit http://www.landtrustva.org.