The Chesapake Bay Commission and the Trust for Public Land furnished the spring report. After finding that an additional 1.1 million acres must be protected, it was determined that half of this acreage could be preserved through existing programs, assuming that funding of these projects would continue. The remainder of the land would need to be secured through new efforts. The report outlined Virginia's best practices and offered ideas on opportunities that could be enhanced. This allowed local governments to create local service districts who have authority to levy property taxes that would fund purchase development rights as easements for conservation or open space.
Municipalities also have broad local taxing authority for land conservation.
The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation provides grants to state agencies and matching grants to local governments and land trusts across the state so that they may aquire land, open space and conservation easements. An income tax credit program was approved in 1999 that provides up to 50 percent of the value of the donation. During the 2001 legislative session, the General Assembly should consider a significant increase in funding to meet the state's extensive land conservation needs. Another revenue option to consider would be a local-option sales tax for land conservation purposes. The suggestions mentioned above were included for each state with the idea that they should be viewed as a menu of possibilities.