Virginia’s United Land Trusts announced that the Commonwealth’s land protection tax credit led to the permanent protection of more than 1 million acres of land.

Virginia’s United Land Trusts announced that the Commonwealth’s land protection tax credit led to the permanent protection of more than 1 million acres of land.

“The land preservation tax credit was a joint effort coming out of the Commission on the Future of Virginia’s Environment,” said Senator Emmett W. Hanger, Jr. (R-Harrisonburg) when announcing the milestone late last month. “None of us imagined that it would be as big as it would be.”

The LPTC provides landowners with tax credits in exchange for voluntarily limiting future development on their land and conserving important natural, cultural, scenic, and historic resources. Over the past 20 years, families across Virginia have worked with public agencies and nonprofit land trusts to voluntarily protect their property from future development and ensure stewardship of important conservation values ​​for future generations.

“As Chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, I know the importance of the tax credit program and how it helps so many in our Commonwealth,” said Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax). “I have always been a steward of Virginia’s Natural Resources and open space and am delighted to hear that the Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credit program has protected one million acres from sprawl since it began in 2000.”

Fairfax residents have also had the opportunity to contribute to Virginia’s LPTC program.

“This land’s location inside the capital beltway made us very popular targets for real estate developers, many of whom made compelling offers,” said Joe Knecht, a Northern Virginia Conservation Trust easement donor on the Upper Holmes Run. “The Land Preservation Tax Credit provided an economically advantageous alternative to subdividing the property.”

According to Aaron Kershaw, director of Marketing and Communications with Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, the LPTC holds 47 easement-protected properties in Fairfax County, totaling nearly 700 acres. This is in addition to three small nature preserves that protect almost 12 additional acres.

“Many of these permanent conservation agreements are with landowners who absolutely need the incentives the Land Preservation Tax Credit program offers in order to preserve their lands and waters,” said Kershaw.

Landowners in Fairfax County have worked with NVTC to protect sites such as Elklick Woodlands Natural Area Preserve, a three-acre property that adds to Pohick Bay Regional Park, and 10 historic sites.

According to Knecht, the program features benefits for landowners as well.

“The program also provided us with a logical roadmap to be better stewards of land that had been in the family for generations,” said Knecht. “The credits have provided flexibility to undertake significant capital improvements, maintain the property in a sustainable manner, and invest in education.”

“Every acre a landowner helps to preserve through this popular program is another acre toward a more sustainable Commonwealth for all of us,” said Matthew Wells, director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. “The Land Preservation Tax Credit program also helps us work toward goals of increasing public access to open space, including historic battlefields and other properties. We are honored to be able to help so many Virginians create a permanent, living legacy.”

According to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation website, landowners who conserve their land may be eligible for financial incentives from federal, state, and local governments. This can include federal income tax deductions which will be matched at the state level, and land use assessment benefits at the local level, in addition to the credits from the Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credit program.

“Since 2000, the Land Preservation Tax Credit has fueled private land conservation at an incredible pace—nearly five acres every hour,” said Brett Glymph, executive director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. “Our foundation has worked with thousands of landowners who’ve utilized this program, and most of them have reinvested the tax credits back into the land by expanding their farming and forestry operations and enhancing wildlife habitat. These lands will benefit Virginians for generations to come.”