Western Virginia Land Trust

“If you don’t take some action, if you don’t begin planning now, the government is going to tell your family what to do with your real estate and your heirs aren’t going to like what they hear...If you care about your land, and if your land is valuable, and if you want to keep your land intact and pass it to the next generation, you can’t just do nothing.” - land conservation expert Stephen J. Small, "Preserving Family Lands"

How We Partner with Private Landowners to Preserve Land

Since 1996, WVLT has helped to permanently preserve more than 36,000 acres of family farms, scenic views, wildlife habitat, and pristine watersheds in our 10-county area, and 16 miles of streams, by working with willing landowners using a variety of voluntary tools.

Conservation Easements: A conservation easement is a voluntary deeded agreement that permanently protects land from types of development that would not be compatible with the conservation value of the property. Easements are generally on properties of over 100 acres whose protection represents a value to the community by protecting natural resources, scenic views, wildlife habitat, historic resources or agricultural lands. Many want to leave a protected and lasting legacy to their children and grandchildren. These voluntary permanent agreements and the generous federal tax deductions, estate tax exclusions and Virginia transferable state tax credits they provide to the owner are detailed in our 2008 Conservation Easement Guide/Landowner Special Edition. Also, you can download a case study showing the increased tax benefits of an easement under the new 2006 tax changes, or view "Conservation Easements" from our Landowner DVD, Your Land, Your Choices.

We are pleased to partner with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, by providing landowner outreach and education, while VOF holds most of the easements in our service area and throughout the state. As of the end of 2006, there were more than 402,000 acres of private property under easements held by the VOF.

Land and Easement Purchases: With funds from state grants, WVLT has purchased riparian easements that protect 16 miles of forested banks along rivers and streams in the James, Roanoke and New River watersheds. We have purchased small urban tracts to secure greenway rights-of-way and manage a special fund to purchase land and easements on Read Mountain.

Broker Public Land Acquisitions: WVLT played a key role in arranging a bargain sale of 8,500 acres to the state to create the Big Survey Wildlife Management Area. This was the most significant example of our cooperative efforts to expand and protect federal, state and local public lands such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, Jefferson National Forest, and the Carvins Cove Natural Reserve.

Accepting Gifts of Land: WVLT works to accept gifts of land for conservation purposes. Arranging a 60-acre gift of scenic land along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a recent example of our ability to act quickly for conservation. We've since donated the land to the National Park Service, preserving a critical view that was slated for high density residential development a few feet from this national scenic road. We also accept gifts of real estate, securities, retirement accounts and other assets to help fund our land conservation efforts.

"I was born on this land and I've lived here all my life, on and off. I didn't want it cut up into subdivisions. I'd like all of my neighbors to donate conservation easements because it's the only way to preserve this part of the country." - Barbara (Bobby) Hatcher of Bedford County preserved her 158 acres near the Peaks of Otter by donating a conservation easement to WVLT and the Peaks of Otter Soil and Water Conservation District. Bobby passed away April 26, 2004, and is missed by all who knew her.

Documents of interest to landowners looking into the donation of a conservation easement

Virginia Outdoors Foundation Application: You will need to complete this form when you start the conservation easement process with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation Conservation Easement: This is the standard easement language, which will be tailored to meet your individual needs and special resources of your property.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation Easement approval procedures: From your first visit with WVLT or VOF, this will give you an idea of the 10 steps you will be going through to get your easement recorded.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation Easement Guidelines: Describes in detail the VOF standards for conservation easements in terms of the conservation value that must be present to qualify for an easement.

Appraising Conservation Easements (.pdf): A description of how a conservation easement is valued for tax purposes. The conservation easement appraiser must have specialized knowledge and the process is more expensive and involved than a standard tax or mortgage appraisal.

A Conservation Easement Appraisal Guide (.pdf): An excellent guide from the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts whose general concepts apply to Virginia landowners as well.

Code of Virginia 58.1-512: Land preservation tax credits for individuals and corporations. This is the statute for the VA state income tax credit which took effect June 30, 2002.

Code of Virginia 58.1-513: Limitations; transfer of credit; gain or loss from tax credit. This is the second half of the tax credit statute.

Code of Virginia 29.1-509: Limitations of liability for hunters, hikers, bikers and other non-paying users of your land. A unique Virginia statute protecting landowners from liability claims.

Opinion of Attorney General: The statutes above generated several important questions which were answered by Attorney General Kilgore in November of 2002. Your tax professional will want to see this.

VA Tax forms for Land Conservation Tax Credits: (link to Virginia individual tax credit forms page) See "LPC-1 - Application for a Land Preservation Credit" and associated schedules and instructions, and Schedule CR, "Credit Computation Schedule for Forms 760, 760PY, and 763."

IRS Schedule 8283 (.pdf): Federal tax return form for reporting charitable gift in excess of $5,000, used to report gift with appraisal to justify gift's valuation. To be signed by tax payer, appraiser and receiver of gift (land trust).