Conservation easements are taking off in Bedford County, and in much of the Blue Ridge region. These easements are helping to preserve farms and other forms of “open space,” not just for today’s generation, but for generations to come. For example, a 158 acre farm at the base of the Peaks of Otter, a 77-acre farmstead with mixed forest and pastureland within the Blue Ridge Parkway viewshed, a 47-acre tract of open space in a highly developed area of Bedford County, and a 100-acre tract within close view of the Peaks of Otter are all now protected by conservation easements landowners have negotiated with the Western Virginia Land Trust in the past several years.

A conservation easement is a permanent protection that a landowner voluntarily decides to place on his or her property to limit future subdivision and development. It is in effect a deed to another party of certain rights of ownership to be held in public trust in perpetuity. The easement also may protect specific natural, scenic or historic features of the property. Each easement is unique. The easement terms are negotiated between the landowner and a public agency or a qualified conservation organization.

Except for the rights explicitly given up in the easement document, the landowner continues to own, use and control the land. The landowner can still decide who may come on the property for what purpose, just as before. An easement is a particularly useful tool for ensuring protection of southwestern Virginia’s open spaces because it lasts forever—it binds not only the current landowner, but all subsequent owners of the property.

While most conservation easements are donated because of the owners’ love of the land and their desire to see it protected in perpetuity, there are also significant tax advantages associated with an easement donation. An easement may be a critical element in a landowner’s strategy to keep rural land in the family, as an easement can help prevent forced sale of property to pay estate taxes. Upcoming articles will examine some of these tax advantages and recent changes to Virginia’s tax credit code that give landowners powerful new financial incentives for donating conservation easements.

Landowners who want to grant a conservation easement must first find an organization willing to accept it. In Virginia, easements can be donated to either a private (not-for-profit) organization, such as the Western Virginia Land Trust, or a public agency. Upcoming articles in this column will provide more information on non-profit land trusts; in this article we will look at some of the public agencies that may hold easements in Virginia.

There are many not-for-profit land trusts organized in Virginia, but holding and administering a conservation easement is a significant responsibility, so potential grantees tend to be very selective about those they accept. For example, farmers who wish to maintain their farmland for farming purposes may prefer to sell or donate their conservation easement to a farm-oriented organization, such as American Farmland Trust, while landowners wishing to preserve the natural qualities of their land may prefer the Virginia Outdoor Foundation or Nature Conservancy. In any event, the transaction is negotiated individually between the landowner and the recipient organization.

Generally, a government agency will tend to be less flexible and move more slowly than a not-for-profit land trust. Because of this there have been instances where the public agency and the not-for-profit trust work together as a partnership with the not-for-profit trust accepting the initial easement while the bureaucratic process takes place. The easement is then transferred to the government agency. In some cases, the two organizations work together as co-trustees for the easements.

Conservation easements may be held by either state or federal agencies. Some government agencies have the resources to purchase conservation easements. Usually a purchased easement would involve land that is threatened by development or that has rare natural features. Federal agencies that may hold easements include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal agencies generally hold easements that are involved in specific programs such as the Wetlands Reserve Program. The purpose of that program is to restore wetlands previously converted to agricultural uses and is administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program provides an opportunity for landowners to receive financial incentives to enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal land from agriculture. The program offers three enrollment options: Permanent easements, 30-year easements and a restoration cost share agreement. For details on this program you can visit their Web site (www.nrcs.usda.gov) or contact the USDA.

In Virginia, the vast majority of conservation easements are donated to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF), a state agency establish by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 to hold easements. The VOF is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor. Their stated purpose under law is to “promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreation areas of the Commonwealth.”

VOF currently holds easements on over 187,800 acres in 68 local jurisdictions. The easements protect a wide variety of natural resources. New state and federal financial incentives for landowners to place easements have resulted in growth in the number of properties in the conservation easement program. Some of these incentives are tax related but in 1997 the Virginia General Assembly created a new fund, the Preservation Trust Fund, to assist landowners with the costs of conveying conservation easements. The fund may reimburse legal costs, appraisal costs or all or part of the easements value. These funds are available only for perpetual easements.

In the year 2000 over 28,500 acres were accepted in the program and in 2001 another 22,500 were accepted. Bedford County is in the Central Virginia Region. For more information on VOF you can contact their Web site (www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org.) or the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, Central Virginia Office, 1010 Harris Street, Suite 4, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (434-293-3423).

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources also holds easements under the Preservation Easement Program. Currently the Department of Historic Resources administers easements on more than 320 properties across the state, covering about 17,000 acres. The Department accepts voluntary easements and also easements generated by General Assembly Grants. State law requires that any property receiving a General Assembly grant of $50,000 or more must be placed under a permanent preservation easement. These grants are only available to local governments and non-profit organizations. The vast majority of easements come from private property owners. Preservation easements are attached to the deed and apply to all future owners of the property.

The restrictions usually associated with the easement include prohibition against demolition, prohibition against architectural changes without approval, and usually prohibit or limit subdivision. Easements are generally flexible in order to accommodate changing lifestyles (modernizations) and alterations for changing property functions (as long as the property’s historic character is not compromised). More detailed information on this program is available on the department’s Web site (www.dhr.va.us). They can be contacted at Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, Va., 23221.