Virginia is fortunate to have abundant forestland that sustains the Commonwealth’s economy, rural communities, and overall environmental health. From the mountains to the Bay, intact managed forests provide substantial benefits to Virginia’s people and natural communities.
Unfortunately, rapid population growth and expansion put these forests and their benefits at risk. Each year, significant portions of Virginia’s forests are converted to other uses, primarily for development. Conversion of forest acres, as well as the fragmentation of the remaining acres, reduces the potential of the forestland base to provide economic, social, and ecological benefits.
The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) is committed to slowing the loss of valuable forestland to non-forest land uses. Because forest conversion results from the choices of individual landowners, DOF works with landowners to help them keep their land in forest.
Landowner Options for Forestland Conservation
Across the Commonwealth exists a mosaic of family forest and farmland. Forestland conservation is a landscape-scale effort achieved through the cooperation of the individual landowners that steward the majority of Virginia’s forested properties. Your forest can be a critical part of conserving Virginia’s beautiful, valuable forestland, but each family or landowner has unique circumstances and visions for their land. You can find a path to forest conservation that works for you. Conservation doesn’t happen by chance – it takes planning to protect forests in perpetuity. DOF and our partners offer resources to help landowners take the first steps toward making long-term plans for their properties.
- Legacy and estate planning
- Generation Next Program assists landowners with legacy planning
- Conservation easements as a tool for conservation
- Protecting forestland with the Forest Legacy Program
- Century Forest Recognition Program
Get started, contact your local DOF forester for guidance.
Additional Resources
Learn more about legacy planning for forest landowners.
Learn more about Virginia’s state forests and how DOF manages state forests to provide conservation benefits.
| Image | Title | ID | Description | Content Type | View | hf:tax:document-category | hf:tax:Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Century Forest Application | 10.03 | Application to apply for the recognition in the Century Forest Program. | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form |
 | Forest Legacy Program | P00200 | Brochure provides information regarding the Forest Legacy Program available to landowners for conserving their forestland, including program overview, public purposes, methods of acquisition, application process, and program requirements. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Conservation Easement | 10.04 | Application to apply to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program via conservation easement. | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Fee Simple Purchase | 10.05 | Application to apply to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program via fee simple purchase. | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Property Proposal | 10.06 | Application Property Proposal is to be submitted as a part of the submission package when applying to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program. | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Property Proposal – Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding Supplement | 10.07 | Application Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding Supplement is to be submitted as a part of the submission package when applying to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program during IRA funding application cycles. | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form |
 | Forestland Conservation Review 2013-04 | P00210 | Report provides an update on current forest conservation topics in the Commonwealth, such as Forest Legacy Program, DOF conservation easements, Virginia Grown program and more. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
 | Forestland Conservation Review 2013-12 | P00210 | Report provides an update on current forest conservation topics in the Commonwealth, such as Forest Legacy Program, DOF conservation easements, Virginia Grown program and more. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
 | Forestland Conservation Review 2014-10 | P00210 | Report provides an update on current forest conservation topics in the Commonwealth, such as Forest Legacy Program, DOF conservation easements, Virginia Grown program and more. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
 | Forestland Conservation Review 2021-11 | P00210 | Report provides an update on current forest conservation topics in the Commonwealth, DOF conservation easements, Generation Next planning, and more. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
 | Forests: Providers of Ecosystem Services | P00142 | Brochure provides insight into the other ecosystem benefits that forests provide, such as carbon sequestration, water quality, wetland and species mitigation banking. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
 | Landowner Options for Forestland Conservation | P00146 | Brochure provides information regarding options available to landowners for conserving their forestland, including use-value taxation, ag and forestal districts, riparian Buffer tax credit, cost-share assistance, conservation easements, purchase of development rights, grants for fee-simple acquisition and easements, and donations of property. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
| NRCS Conservation Planning Activity (CPA 106) and Design and Implementation Activity (DIA 165) Application | 7.09 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
| Open-Space Easement Application | 10.01 | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form | |
| Open-Space Easement Landowner Checklist | 10.02 | Form | View | forestland-conservation | form | |
 | Plan Your Forest’s Future | P00205 | Brochure provides information regarding the responsibility of owning forestland and the importance of planning your forest’s future, conserving your forestland, forest planning options, types of plans, elements of a plan, and benefits of a plan. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forest-management | publication |
 | Services for Landowners | P00112 | Brochure provides information about the services available to landowners from the Virginia Department of Forestry, including forest management and forest health, timber harvesting and water quality, land conservation, tree seedling production, and resource protection. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | fire-and-emergency-response forest-health forest-management forestland-conservation nurseries urban-and-community-forestry water-quality | publication |
 | Valuing Virginia’s Forests – Ecosystem Benefits Provided by Our Forests | FT0005 | Forestry topic information sheet provides a brief overview of the indirect benefits, such as ecosystem services, that we derive from our forests. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forestland-conservation | publication |
GIS Data Resources
DOF has made available various GIS data sets – one specifically related to forestland conservation (GIS software required.) The Forest Conservation Value (FCV) is a modeled raster layer (geo tiff format) that identifies high-value conservation forests across Virginia. The current version of the model was produced in 2020. It is meant as a tool to help drive strategic, informed, and targeted decisions about where to focus forest conservation efforts. The model is based on a weighted combination of six component layers (e.g., forest management potential, threat of conversion). A detailed description of the methods used to produce the layer is included in the materials for download.
Contact Us
If you’re unsure where to start, contact your local DOF forester for guidance.
For more information or questions, e-mail us or use our contact form.