Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) holds open-space easements, regularly referred to as “conservation easements”, on managed forests and farms across the Commonwealth. There are many organizations in the Commonwealth that can hold conservation easements, including DOF, other state agencies, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and local land trusts. A DOF working lands open-space easement is similar to conservation easements held by other organizations, except that DOF easement terms are written to protect working farms and forestland, riparian and wetland areas, and to guide long-term natural resources stewardship.
Most Virginia landowners pursuing conservation easements complete the transaction as a donation, which may qualify as a charitable gift under federal and state tax laws, allowing the landowners to obtain a federal tax donation and Virginia state tax credit. In some cases, DOF can work with landowners and/or their representatives to pursue competitive grant funding opportunities to compensate landowners for a portion of the easement’s value.
The DOF open-space easement program prioritizes working farms and larger blocks of managed forest that provide the greatest range of benefits to the Commonwealth. The focus remains on keeping the forestland intact and undivided, enabling landowners to manage their working lands for agricultural and timber products while providing other conservation values.
Apply for a Working Lands Open-Space Easement
Easement Project Selection
The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) Office of Working Lands Preservation (OWL) prioritizes the conservation of managed forests and working farms where the threat of development to non-agricultural uses is significant. Additional consideration is given to soil and forest quality, property size, whether the property is covered by a resource management plan that has been implemented, and the level of confidence in the property boundary.
If you are interested in applying for an easement to be held by DOF, complete the Open-Space Easement Application found in the “Additional Resources” section at the bottom of this page and submit the application via e-mail to the Office of Working Lands Preservation. One of our staff will contact you.
For “donated easements”, where 100% of the value of the easement will be donated by the landowner to the Commonwealth, applications are due by September 1. OWL reviews applications to select projects on or before September 15. The selected projects will be developed beginning January of the following year and in most instances will close by June 30.
Applications for donated easements are reviewed and ranked according to OWL’s project scoring matrix. Projects are chosen based on the scores and staff capacity. When projects are selected in September, landowners will be notified and provided with a list of items that are required before staff can begin their easement project in January. Once DOF has a 60-year title search, a satisfactory title commitment covering DOF’s easement interest, all relevant plats and legal descriptions to establish the property acreage and boundary, and other items as requested, DOF’s easement process and legal review will take four to six months.
For “grant-funded easements”, where the applicant plans to seek grant funding to purchase all or part of the easement’s value and pay for the associated transaction costs (appraisal, survey or other due diligence costs), applications are due June 1. OWL reviews applications on or before June 1.
This deadline allows OWL sufficient time to:
- Evaluate all easement applications that are proposed to be submitted for each year’s Forest Legacy Program and Virginia Land Conservation Foundation grant cycles.
- Assess the potential conservation value of proposed easements.
- Assess DOF’s capacity to support the grant applications and subsequent grant management.
For any one grant opportunity, DOF may choose to support all, some or no grant applications.
For projects that are awarded funding, DOF will begin work on the easement project once DOF has received a clear title search; a satisfactory title commitment covering DOF’s easement interest; and a survey, less than 20 years old, meeting Virginia Administrative Code 18 VAC 10-20-370 “Minimum Standards and Procedures for Land Boundary Survey Practice”. From that point, DOF’s easement process and legal review will take four to six months.
Additional Resources
| Image | Title | ID | Description | Content Type | View | hf:tax:document-category | hf:tax:Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Open-Space Easement Application | 10.01 | Form | View | forest | form | |
| Open-Space Easement Landowner Checklist | 10.02 | Form | View | forest | form |
Contact Us
For more information or questions, e-mail us or use our contact form.