Conservation Easements Virginia's rural landscape is disappearing at an alarming rate. The conversion of our fields, riparian areas, and forests to homesites, roads, and commercial land, fragments the green space so vital to the rural character of Virginia.
Easements are legal agreements that convey one person's rights to another individual or group.
Conservation easements convey development rights to easement holders, and usually bind the landowner to mutually agreed upon guidelines for protecting the property in other ways as well. Conservation easements are essential in some developed areas of Virginia, but can reward farmers and forest landowners in any area for benefits their property provides to all Virginians. Easement options are varied and quite flexible to landowners needs, while still promoting controlled and orderly development. Easements are necessary because even as our population grows, each individual uses on average four times the land area individuals did forty years ago. The environmental benefits of conserving rural lands are also economic benefits.