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Proposed ACP changes may intersect VOF easements

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation recently learned of proposed changes to the route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) that indicate new possible intersections with VOF easements in the Shenandoah Valley.

VOF staff has scheduled meetings with ACP staff to determine the specifics of the proposed changes. VOF’s focus is on making certain that the pipeline and related construction activities do not impair the conservation values protected by its easements.

Says VOF Deputy Director of Stewardship Martha Little, “We share information regularly with utilities regarding the location of our easements and, in order to ensure easement compliance, request that we be consulted prior to conducting any survey work that involves clearing of vegetation, earth disturbance, or use of motor vehicles, self-propelled machinery or power equipment. We will continue to gather as much information as we can throughout this process.”

Whenever utility expansion is proposed on an easement property, VOF must take into account all of the protected conservation values as well as the clear language of the restrictions. Current language for utilities in our easement template ensures that the construction and maintenance of public or private utilities will not impair the conservation values of the property. VOF has permitted public and private underground lines to cross easements after analyzing the impacts to the protected resources and making the determination that those resources would remain unharmed. Some examples of protected resources that could be negatively impacted by an underground line include archeological resources, karst resources, no-cut zones in forested areas, and specially protected habitat areas.

VOF will monitor the progress of the ACP project and continue to share information with landowners and other partners. Landowners who have property under easement with VOF and receive notification from Atlantic Coast Pipeline or any other utility regarding a project on easement-protected land should direct questions or concerns to their local stewardship specialist.

21,000 new acres of open space protected by VOF in 2015

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation permanently protected 21,800 acres of farmland, forests, and other open space through 100 conservation easements in 2015. VOF now protects just under 780,000 acres across the Commonwealth.

VOF protected new acreage in 49 different localities. Lunenburg County saw the most land protected with 1,844 acres. For the third consecutive year Southside was the hottest region for easements, with 8,089 acres protected.

One of the year’s highlights was VOF’s first easement in the City of Norfolk, on 16 acres that are home to the Hermitage Museum & Gardens. In addition to substantial riparian buffer protections along the Lafayette River, which bounds the property on three sides, the easement also ensures permanent public access to most of the property, which has extensive trails and gardens, as well as a public playground managed through a partnership with the city.

Other highlights include:

  • A 126-acre easement on a 250-year-old family farm in Grayson County.
  • A 957-acre easement straddling Nelson and Augusta counties that fronts the Blue Ridge Parkway, is almost completely surrounded by public land, and contains headwaters to a wild trout stream that flows into the Rockfish River.
  • A pair of easements in Halifax County that protect a total of 1,325 acres along the Dan River, a scenic-designated portion of the Staunton River, and the scenic-designated byway River Road.
  • A 703-acre easement in King and Queen County that contains large areas of working forest land with more than four miles of shoreline on Dragon Run, bringing the total amount of land that VOF protects along that body of water to 3,277 acres.
  • A 387-acre easement in the Cripple Creek section of Wythe County that, combined with an older adjacent easement, protects 540 acres and more than a mile of frontage along State Route 619, a designated Virginia Byway.

 

Conservation easements are voluntary agreements between private landowners and a qualified easement holder such as VOF that limit future development while keeping land in private ownership to be utilized for farming, forestry, and other rural uses. Because of the public benefits associated with limiting development on rural land—protecting water quality, scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, and productive soils—landowners who donate easements are eligible to receive state and federal tax benefits.

A recent survey of landowners who donated easements to VOF since 2000 found that 90 percent of them manage the land for agricultural production or forestry. Approximately 60 percent used the Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credits they received to sustain, expand, or start a new farming or forestry operation, and 20 percent did the same for a business unrelated to farming or forestry. The survey also revealed that about three-quarters of easement donors reinvested their tax benefits back into additional conservation practices on their land.

VOF easements help to protect, among other things, 350,000 acres of prime farm soils, 300,000 acres of the state’s best forestland, 4,000 miles of stream and rivers, and 100,000 acres in state and federal rural historic districts.

Click here for a county-by-county breakdown of VOF’s easement acres for 2015.

VOF kicks off 50th anniversary with “50 Years, 50 Stories” story map

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2016, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation will be featuring a different conservation success story from its past every week on its website at vof.org/50stories.

The “50 Years, 50 Stories” project combines photos, stories and maps to take visitors on a virtual tour of some of VOF’s most significant projects around the state. The first stop is VOF’s very first open-space easement, recorded in Goochland County in 1967. The easement, donated by James M. Ball, Jr., was placed on the property as part of a gift to the University of Richmond, which uses the 100-acre site for biological and zoological research.

The most recent addition to the story map is Caledonia Farm in Rappahannock County, which was placed under easement with VOF in 1973 by Phil Irwin, who still owns the property today and manages it as a bed & breakfast. Irwin was the first landowner in Rappahannock County to donate an easement to VOF, and he is also the last surviving founder of the Piedmont Environmental Council, which was formed to promote easements and organize grassroots conservation efforts in Virginia’s piedmont.

New stories will be added weekly and will reflect the geographic breadth of VOF’s work, the partnerships that have fueled our success, and the diversity of conservation values that are being protected, ranging from working farms and forests to historic landmarks, major waterways, scenic landscapes, and public recreational areas.

VOF trustees adopt interim easement guidelines, expand PTF eligibility

At its September 24 meeting, the VOF board of trustees voted on several policy matters affecting landowners who want to donate open-space easements in 2016.

One such matter was the adoption of interim easement guidelines as VOF considers and accepts public comments for a more thorough update of its guidelines in 2016. The last update of the easement guidelines was in 2010. The guidelines help VOF develop recommendations for the protection of conservation values in potential easements. The interim guidelines will be phased in to affect new easements considered by the VOF board in 2016. As always, each property is unique and specific restrictions are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. VOF is accepting public comments on the interim guidelines through February 1, 2016.

Another policy matter the board voted on pertained to VOF’s Preservation Trust Fund (PTF), which assists landowners with covering some of the costs associated with conveying an open-space easement. The board voted to expand the income eligibility for landowners seeking grants to cover the costs of donating new easements. These costs include the new Baseline Documentation Report fee adopted in June, as well as legal fees, appraisals and, in certain cases, surveys.  Visit our PTF page to learn more about the grant application process.

Finally, the VOF’s trustees approved the following board meeting dates for 2016: March 24, June 30, and September 29. VOF board meetings are open to the public and are where trustees consider new easements, as well as policy, legal, budget, and other matters. Times and locations for board meetings, as well as agendas and background materials, will be posted on our calendar closer to the actual dates.

VOF Board updates fee schedule, expands financial assistance

To sustain the programs necessary to achieving Virginia’s land conservation goals, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted June 25, 2015 to approve a fee schedule that includes several new fees, adjustments to existing fees, and stewardship endowments for purchased conservation easements.

A breakdown of the fees can be found here. Most take effect July 1, 2015, although one—a fee to help with the costs of creating and reviewing Baseline Documentation Reports, which are essential to the easement monitoring process—will not take effect until January 1, 2016 in order to avoid impacting projects that are already far along in the easement process.

While such fees are common practice in the private land trust community, VOF has only begun to implement them recently as many public agencies have shifted costs from the general taxpayers to the priority responders of their programs and services as a result of overall budget constraints.

“Sustainable funding is critical for the kind of work we do,” says VOF’s Executive Director Brett Christina Glymph. “We want to continue to protect Virginia’s natural and cultural treasures for future generations, while also providing good, timely service to the thousands of landowners who are our partners today.”

To ensure that these fees do not become a hardship for landowners who have limited financial resources, the Board of Trustees also voted at its June meeting to expand the eligibility for receiving grants from VOF’s Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (PTF). This fund, which was created in 1997 and will be funded at $1 million in fiscal year 2016, helps landowners with some of the costs associated with conveying conservation easements.

Changes to the PTF grant program include:

  • Increasing the general income eligibility for grants from $50,000 annual income to $78,400 (median state income). This is not considered a hard limit on income level, and other factors may contribute to establishing financial need.
  • Increasing the recommended limit on grants for reimbursing costs of donation from $6,500 to $9,500 per project, (plus additional funds for survey costs, if needed). For properties with legal descriptions inadequate to establish good boundaries for mapping and stewardship, landowners will be encouraged to apply for additional funds to cover survey costs.
  • Projects requesting a partial purchase of easement will be considered by the Board of Trustees only after January 1, 2016.
  • In addition to prioritization suggested by the Preservation Trust Fund’s enabling legislation (“to aid localities or persons for cost-only projects, family farms and with financial need”), priority for partial purchase of easement projects will also be given to projects that include public access.

 

Anyone with questions about the fees or PTF grants should contact their nearest VOF regional office.

VOF establishes committee to engage community in House Mountain management

At its June 25 meeting in Warrenton, Va., the Virginia Outdoors Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to establish a House Mountain Committee to provide a continuing forum for community input in the management of VOF’s 876-acre House Mountain Reserve in Rockbridge County.

VOF acquired the property on behalf of the Commonwealth in 1989. A grassroots effort spearheaded by the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council (RACC) contributed almost $150,000 toward the total acquisition cost of $375,000. From 1989 until 2013, RACC, Washington and Lee University, and the Virginia Military Institute provided input and management assistance to VOF through a joint advisory committee defined within a management agreement.

The new committee continues to provide a forum for input from RACC, W&L, and VMI, but also expands that forum to include other partners, including the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, landowners who live in House Mountain’s vicinity, and people whose scientific expertise, practical skills, or knowledge of House Mountain would be of value to the committee’s work. The resolution establishing the committee also clarifies goals and responsibilities, and sets the stage for VOF to produce a formal management plan for the property that seeks to continue traditional uses and provide more opportunity for the public to utilize the property as a recreational and natural resource.

“We are grateful to the volunteers in Rockbridge who have served as the boots on the ground in helping to manage this important natural treasure,” said Stephanie Ridder, chair of VOF’s Board of Trustees. “It is critical that VOF continue engaging the local community in the future management of House Mountain, and this committee provides a direct and meaningful way to accomplish that. We look forward to working with neighbors, community members, stakeholders, and users who are committed to the protection of House Mountain.”

The committee will meet at least semi-annually to review the current use of the reserve and to review any proposals brought to the committee by any member of the public. In addition, the committee will hold an annual meeting on or about February 1 to receive public input and provide a summary of the past year’s activities.

All members on the committee will have equal weight in the decision-making process. Among other things, they will:

  • Provide recommendations on the creation and implementation of the House Mountain Reserve Management Plan.
  • Provide input on proposals for research projects, improvements to the Reserve, and requests for events.
  • Review materials relating to the Reserve, including, but not limited to, its history, visitor rules, maps, and interpretive signage.
  • Maintain a network of organizations and individuals having the skills and interests necessary for active volunteer management of the Reserve.
  • Identify grants and other funding sources available for Reserve management.
  • Report to the VOF Trustees any recommendations made by the committee and provide an annual report of activities.

The House Mountain Committee will operate for a two-year period, after which modifications may be proposed to the VOF Trustees by the committee or any of its members.

At their June meeting, VOF’s Trustees also instructed staff to draft a Deed of Dedication that reaffirms VOF’s long-term commitment to the protection of the property. The board expects to consider the Deed of Dedication at its next meeting in September.

“The overarching goals of this committee are transparency, accountability, and a commitment to the permanent protection of House Mountain,” added VOF Executive Director Brett Christina Glymph. “While we work on a Deed of Dedication we will continue addressing the day-to-day needs of the property with help from our dedicated and growing group of local volunteers.”

Anyone with questions about the committee or an interest in volunteering at House Mountain Reserve may contact Amanda Scheps, manager of VOF’s land reserves, at ascheps@vofonline.org or (540) 347-7727 ext. 227.

VOF’s first easement in Norfolk protects a cultural and natural gem

For more than 75 years, the Hermitage Foundation has been cultivating art in the City of Norfolk through its collections, exhibitions, and classes. With its museum, studio, gardens, trails, public playground, and acres of undeveloped green space surrounded on three sides by the Lafayette River, the foundation has provided an opportunity for thousands of families to not only fulfill the educational mission of its founders, William and Florence Sloane, but also to connect with nature in one of Virginia’s most developed regions.

Thanks to a partnership with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, that opportunity is now preserved for generations to come.

After three years of hard work between staff and trustees at both foundations, a permanent VOF conservation easement was recorded on June 11. The announcement was made at a concert on the property’s waterfront with hundreds of families, supporters, and local officials in attendance. The project adds to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s goal of protecting at least 1,000 cultural and natural Virginia treasures before the end of his term.

The donated easement is VOF’s first in the City of Norfolk, raising the number of localities in which VOF protects open space to 107 (the Commonwealth has a total of 133 counties and independent cities). Among other things, the easement prohibits future division of the property and limits new building and structures that could destroy the property’s scenic waterfront, sacrifice its delicate riparian boundary or compromise its important habitat for wildlife, birds, and native plants. It also requires that most of the property be open to the public for recreational, educational, or cultural activities for at least 100 days each year-reflecting the Hermitage’s commitment to managing the property as an invaluable community asset, natural resource, and open green space for the city of Norfolk, the people of Hampton Roads and all citizens of Virginia.

Consideration of an easement was suggested by Emeritus Board member, John Meek, and initiated by the Hermitage’s Strategic Planning Committee in early 2012, as one option to secure the future of its unique urban waterfront while adhering to its mission and vision for the future. The Long Range and Master Site Plans identified many benefits of protecting the property with a conservation easement. A dedicated team of board members led by Pam Combs, Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee and members Alex Erving and Steven Blashfield, along with the Hermitage staff and Stokes Environmental Associates guided the nearly three-year application process.

Past President Bob Garris stated when the Board voted to pursue the easement in the summer of 2014, “We are thrilled that the property founded and developed by the Sloane family more than 75 years ago will be preserved and protected for future generations to enjoy and experience.”

In addition to the benefit of protecting the property from over-development in perpetuity, the easement may result in financial benefits for the Hermitage from the sale of state land preservation tax credits. An application will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Taxation proposing credits be granted to the Hermitage Museum & Gardens in consideration of its gift of easement on its property. If the credits are approved, any funds realized from their sale would be used in fulfilling the mission and vision of the Hermitage.

Said Executive Director Brett Christina Glymph, “VOF is honored that the Hermitage asked us to be partners in the fulfillment of its mission, and we are proud that our first easement in Norfolk protects one of the region’s most vibrant natural and cultural treasures.”

To learn more about the Hermitage, including information about hours, exhibits, and classes, visit thehermitagemuseum.org.

Shenandoah easement donor: “We’re going to take care of the land”

In the middle of Shenandoah County, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, on the western banks of the Shenandoah River, is the town of Woodstock. With main thoroughfares like Water Street and Spring Street, an amateur baseball team called the River Bandits, and Seven Bends State Park on the outskirts, water is a defining characteristic of the community. And as the county seat for one of the top agricultural counties in Virginia, so is farming.

Both of these characteristics are on full display at Pleasantdale Farm, a couple of miles west of town, just beyond Interstate 81 and scattered subdivisions. Spring Hollow Run, a tributary to the Shenandoah River that passes through town, originates there. So did Wade Hawkins, whose grandfather bought the place in 1940, and who now runs the farm with his wife and three kids.

Growing up, Hawkins watched neighboring farms be developed throughout the 1990s. His father and grandfather tried to purchase and save some of them, but couldn’t compete with developers.

When Wade took over the farming operations, he wanted to prevent a similar fate for Pleasantdale. “It has taken years for my grandfather to build these soils up,” he says. “I just felt it was our obligation as farmers—as stewards of the land—to protect it.”

He started by working with the local and state agencies to implement best management practices such as fencing off springs, rotating crops and grazing, planting cover crops, building manure containment facilities, and creating a nutrient management plan. “The land is taking care of us, and we’re going to take care of the land,” he explains. “We’ll be the first ones affected if we do something wrong with the land, so we’re doing everything we can to protect our livelihood.”

One year, Hawkins read a magazine article about conservation easements as tools for protecting farms. He liked the idea of permanent protection. Running a start-to-finish cattle operation is expensive, he says, and like most farmers his family had many financial obligations. “If the cattle market busted and we couldn’t make payments, I didn’t want to see the bank come in and sell it, and then all of our hard work would be divided up. We knew that if we put it into easement, at least what we’ve done is going to stay there and somebody else can continue to thrive on our land.”

Working with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Shenandoah County Easement Authority, Hawkins placed 308 acres under easement in 2014. The payments and tax benefits he received have helped the family improve their financial footing, and the community has gained the protection of a property that not only protects the farming landscape, but also the headwaters of a key water resource.

For Hawkins, the easement is also about allowing his family to continue what his grandfather started.

“When we feed the animals in the big barn, the kids have their tricycles and little dump trunks and bulldozers in there pushing the feed up to the cows with us,” he says. “It’s the life I grew up with, and I want them to have that, as well.”

Virginia Outdoors Foundation Protected 27,300 Acres in 2014

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation permanently protected 27,300 acres of farmland, forests, and other open space through 125 conservation easements in 2014.

For the second consecutive year, the largest region for newly protected acreage was Virginia’s Southside, where VOF recorded 26 easements on about 12,000 acres, led by a 3,400-acre easement on a tract of working forestland in Charlotte County.

In all, VOF protects about 760,000 acres across 106 localities—an area nearly the size of Rhode Island. A breakdown of easement acreage by locality can be found at vof.org/stats.

Conservation easements are voluntary agreements between private landowners and a qualified easement holder such as VOF that limit future development while keeping land in private ownership to be utilized for farming, forestry, and other rural uses. Because of the public benefits associated with limiting development on rural land—protecting water quality, scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, and productive soils—landowners who donate easements are eligible to receive state and federal tax benefits.

A recent survey of landowners who donated easements to VOF since 2000 found that 90 percent of them manage the land for agricultural production or forestry. Approximately 60 percent used the Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credits they received to sustain, expand, or start a new farming or forestry operation, and 20 percent did the same for a business unrelated to farming or forestry. The survey also revealed that about three-quarters of easement donors reinvested their tax benefits back into additional conservation practices on their land.

VOF easements help to protect, among other things, 350,000 acres of prime farm soils, 300,000 acres of the state’s best forestland, 4,000 miles of stream and rivers, and 100,000 acres in state and federal rural historic districts.

Survey finds VOF easements largely protecting working farms and forestland

A new survey of 631 landowners who granted conservation easements to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) since 2000 reveals that landowners are primarily managing those lands for agricultural production and/or forestry, and that they are reinvesting many of the tax credits they receive from the state back into their operations.

Virginia established Land Preservation Tax Credits in 2000 to encourage private landowners to limit development of rural open spaces and keep the land available for farming, forestry, recreation, and other traditional rural uses.

About 83% of all the land that VOF has protected since it was established in 1966 has been protected since 2000.

The telephone survey, conducted by Responsive Management of Harrisonburg, Va., asked a number of questions pertaining to the use of the land under easement, as well as the importance of the tax credit in their decision to donate a conservation easement that limits development. The survey participants were randomly selected from a list of all landowners who donated easements to VOF between 2000 and 2014. The sampling error is at most plus or minus 3.25 percentage points.

Key findings include:
  • The overwhelming majority of landowners (90%) are managing the protected lands for agricultural production or for forestry.
    • Those 90% managing the land for agricultural production or forestry were specifically asked if they conduct any of six potential economic activities on the land. The top tier includes raising livestock (51% of landowners report that land use) and growing commercial agricultural crops (41%). Lower on the list, but still with a substantial percentage, is commercial timbering (29%).
  • 73% said the protected land is important to their livelihood, with 31% saying it’s “essential.”
  • 87% said the tax credits were important in their decision to donate an easement, with 34% saying the credits were “essential.”
  • 16% lease the land to hunters/anglers for hunting or fishing access.

 

The survey also revealed that landowners are reinvesting tax credits back into their businesses. For instance, of those who applied for tax credits:

  • 61% used the credits to sustain, expand, or start a new agricultural or forestry operation.
  • 19% used the tax credits to sustain, expand, or start a new business unrelated to agriculture or forestry.
  • 51% used the tax credits to implement land management practices that specifically improved farm or forest productivity.
  • 36% used the tax credits to pay down or reduce business-related debt.

 

The tax credits also appear to be fueling additional conservation benefits beyond the easement. About 3 out of 4 landowners (70%) said they used the tax credits to implement land management practices that benefit water, soil, wildlife, or forest quality or that provide other conservation benefits.

Finally, 96% of the respondents said they have recommended or would recommend to another landowner donating a conservation easement to VOF.

Says VOF Executive Director Brett Glymph, “VOF strives to protect land that is livable and workable for people, especially farmers and foresters who represent Virginia’s number one industry. This survey shows that VOF easements are not just a tool for protecting the natural resources that make our Commonwealth a wonderful place to live, but also for protecting the resource base that fuels a significant portion of our economy.”

Formed by the Virginia legislature in 1966, VOF protects more than 735,000 acres (1,100 square miles) of open space in Virginia—an area nearly the size of Rhode Island. It holds easements in all but two counties, and in 13 independent cities. These lands help to protect more than 3,500 miles of streams, 325,000 acres of designated prime farmland, 290,000 acres of designated high-quality forests, and 200,000 acres of “ecologically significant landscape cores” as defined by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Over the last decade, VOF has protected farms and forests at a rate of about 5 acres every hour. Roughly 95% of all Virginians live within 10 miles of a VOF easement.

Download a copy of the survey report