Protect Your Land
Over the last thirty years, rapid population growth and subsequent commercial and residential development have led to the loss of thousands of acres of agricultural lands, forests, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and other natural resources in the Commonwealth. This has adversely affected many historical and cultural aspects of life here. Virginia’s population is projected to continue growing, ultimately putting precious open space at further risk.
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Do you own land that you want to protect from development? A conservation easement may be what you are looking for. No matter the size of your property, Land Trust of Virginia is here to guide you through the process and develop an easement that suits your family’s needs and will protect your land in perpetuity.
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What is an Easement?
Decades ago, communities across our country—while appreciating their local, state, and federal efforts to protect land—came to understand that it was not enough as they watched valuable open spaces being lost to development. So, a quiet movement started in which private citizens began to form local land trusts, taking conservation of the land within their communities into their own hands, organizing and informing their neighbors of the important role of conservation easements. Today, there are approximately 45 land trusts in Virginia, most of which have a local geographic focus.
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A conservation easement is a private legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust, such as Land Trust of Virginia, that protects land and its conservation values permanently. Together, the landowner and the land trust craft the legal easement document to protect the land's significant natural and cultural attributes. The landowner still owns the property, but the conservation easement is a permanent legal document that is recorded in local land records and remains in effect regardless of changes in ownership.
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Conservation easements are a strategy for protection. They can improve water quality, preserve cultural and historic sites, protect plant and animal communities, sustain working agricultural landscapes and natural areas, and enhance quality of life.
Easement Donation Process
Donating a conservation easement is truly a charitable gift that provides benefits for the local community and future generations. Each conservation easement is unique in its contribution to a healthy, economically vibrant, Virginia landscape. Once a landowner has decided to explore donating an easement, it just takes a call to Land Trust of Virginia to get started.
Be sure to check out this general summary of the steps involved as a landowner!
Criteria
Land Trust of Virginia has criteria for accepting land conservation easements based upon federal, state, and local guidelines, which require that each easement property has some “significant” conservation value of forests, wetlands, waterways, endangered species habitat, historic sites, battlefields, important farmland and/or scenic areas.
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At the invitation of a landowner, LTV will evaluate a property to determine whether it meets these criteria. Then, we work with landowners to tailor the easement to meet their future needs while protecting the conservation values. For example, an easement may cover portions of a property, an entire parcel, or allow an additional residence or agricultural building(s), and even allow division of the property depending on its size.
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Benefits
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The benefits of conservation easements are substantial. Loving the land and the sense of place it provides inspires many to make this donation, they want to protect what they love. In addition, the landowner is often entitled to significant tax benefits, which may include:
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Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credit Program
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Federal income tax deductions
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State and federal estate tax benefits
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Lower local property taxes
After initiating the process with LTV, landowners should seek advice from their own tax and legal advisors regarding the financial and estate benefits of a conservation easement as well as engaging the services of a qualified conservation land appraiser.
Once the easement is finalized and recorded, LTV begins their stewardship of the land. This means at least once a year, LTV staff will visit and connect with you, the landowner(s), and all future landowners (successor landowners) to ensure that the land is being maintained according to the design of the easement.
Landowner FAQs
Land Trust of Virginia Funds
Land Trust of Virginia has several funds available to help offset our fees associated with your easement donation. Please contact us if you feel your land could qualify for one of the following assistance programs.
Malcolm Baldwin Farmers Fund
This fund, created in 2019 in honor of Malcolm Forbes Baldwin, a former LTV board member and lifelong conservationist, underwrites fees for conservation easements on properties currently in active agricultural use.
Deborah Whittier Fitts Battlefield Stewardship Fund
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This fund, created in 2009 in honor of Deborah Whittier, one of the nation’s leading journalists covering Civil War battlefield preservation, underwrites fees on properties that have documented Civil War significance.
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Mars Blue Ridge Conservation Fund
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Our iconic Blue Ridge Mountains are an amazing resource that helps define our Commonwealth, but they are as vulnerable as they are visible. Contributions to this fund will protect this wonderful resource for the benefit of wildlife, hikers on the Appalachian Trail, and all of us who enjoy these unique mountains' history and scenic beauty.
Is the Property you are Considering Protecting in Loudoun County?
If so, you might qualify for the Loudoun County Conservation Easement Assistance Program, which will provide up to $25,000 to assist with covering the costs of a conservation easement. The Program funding can cover Attorney’s fees, Land appraisal and survey fees, processing and document fees, and Stewardship costs. We will apply for you and help you through the process. Check out this link for more information.
In 2023, LTV partnered with seven other conservation organizations to produce our Rural Landowner Manual: A Resource Guide for the Northern Piedmont. The publication includes a list of experts, programs, opportunities to assist landowners, and advice for navigating the complexities of rural property stewardship. Read it online by clicking the cover below, or please reach out to pick up a hard copy from our office in Middleburg:
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LTV is proud to partner with The Clifton Institute, a native plant and animal habitat restoration nonprofit located in Fauquier County, to provide advice on best management practices for your landscape.
Additional management practices are available on their website’s resource section.
