reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1009. Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Conservation easement" means a nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property, whether easement appurtenant or in gross, acquired through gift, purchase, devise, or bequest imposing limitations or affirmative obligations, the purposes of which include retaining or protecting natural or open-space values of real property, assuring its availability for agricultural, forestal, recreational, or open-space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, or preserving the historical, architectural or archaeological aspects of real property.
"Holder" means a charitable corporation, charitable association, or charitable trust which has been declared exempt from taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) and the primary purposes or powers of which include: (i) retaining or protecting the natural or open-space values of real property; (ii) assuring the availability of real property for agricultural, forestal, recreational, or open-space use; (iii) protecting natural resources; (iv) maintaining or enhancing air or water quality; or (v) preserving the historic, architectural or archaeological aspects of real property.
"Public body" means any entity defined in § 10.1-1700.
"Third party right of enforcement" means a right provided in a conservation easement to enforce any of its terms granted to a governmental body, charitable corporation, charitable association or charitable trust which, although eligible to be a holder, is not a holder.
1988, cc. 720, 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1010. Creation, acceptance and duration

A. A holder may acquire a conservation easement by gift, purchase, devise or bequest.
B. No right or duty in favor of or against a holder and no right in favor of a person having a third-party right of enforcement arises under a conservation easement before its acceptance by the holder and a recordation of the acceptance.
C. A conservation easement shall be perpetual in duration unless the instrument creating it otherwise provides a specific time. For all easements, the holder shall (i) meet the criteria in § 10.1-1009 and (ii) either have had a principal office in the Commonwealth for at least five years, or be a national organization in existence for at least five years which has an office in the Commonwealth and has registered and is in good standing with the State Corporation Commission. Until a holder has met these requirements, the holder may co-hold a conservation easement with another holder that meets the requirements.
D. An interest in real property in existence at the time a conservation easement is created is not impaired by it unless the owner of the interest is a party to the conservation easement or consents to it in writing.
E. No conservation easement shall be valid and enforceable unless the limitations or obligations created thereby conform in all respects to the comprehensive plan at the time the easement is granted for the area in which the real property is located.
F. This chapter does not affect the power of the court to modify or terminate a conservation easement in accordance with the principles of law and equity, or in any way limit the power of eminent domain as possessed by any public body. In any such proceeding the holder of the conservation easement shall be compensated for the value of the easement.
1988, cc. 720, 891; 2000, c. 182; 2003, c. 1014; 2004, c. 364.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1011. Taxation

A. Where an easement held pursuant to this chapter or the Open-Space Land Act (§ 10.1-1700 et seq.) by its terms is perpetual, neither the interest of the holder of a conservation easement nor a third-party right of enforcement of such an easement shall be subject to state or local taxation nor shall the owner of the fee be taxed for the interest of the holder of the easement.
B. Assessments of the fee interest in land that is subject to a perpetual conservation easement held pursuant to this chapter or the Open-Space Land Act (§ 10.1-1700 et seq.) shall reflect the reduction in the fair market value of the land that results from the inability of the owner of the fee to use such property for uses terminated by the easement. To ensure that the owner of the fee is not taxed on the value of the interest of the holder of the easement, the fair market value of such land (i) shall be based only on uses of the land that are permitted under the terms of the easement and (ii) shall not include any value attributable to the uses or potential uses of the land that have been terminated by the easement.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B, land which is (i) subject to a perpetual conservation easement held pursuant to this chapter or the Open-Space Land Act (§ 10.1-1700 et seq.), (ii) devoted to open-space use as defined in § 58.1-3230, and (iii) in any county, city or town which has provided for land use assessment and taxation of any class of land within its jurisdiction pursuant to § 58.1-3231 or § 58.1-3232, shall be assessed and taxed at the use value for open space, if the land otherwise qualifies for such assessment at the time the easement is dedicated. If an easement is in existence at the time the locality enacts land use assessment, the easement shall qualify for such assessment. Once the land with the easement qualifies for land use assessment, it shall continue to qualify so long as the locality has land use assessment.
1988, cc. 720, 891; 1993, c. 390; 1998, c. 487.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1012. Notification

Whenever any instrument conveying a conservation easement is recorded after July 1, 1988, the party responsible for recording it or his agent shall mail certified copies thereof, together with any attached plats and a notice specifying the date and place of recordation, to the commissioner of revenue for the local jurisdiction in which the real property subject thereto is located, the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and to any other public body named in such instrument. Whenever any conservation easement is on lands that are part of or contain a historic place or landmark listed on either the National Register of Historic Places or the Virginia Landmarks Register, any notice required by this section shall also be given to the Director of the Department of Historic Resources.
1988, cc. 720, 891; 2011, c. 207.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1013. Standing

An action affecting a conservation easement may be brought by:
1. An owner of an interest in real property burdened by the easement;
2. A holder of the easement;
3. A person having an express third-party right of enforcement;
4. The Attorney General of the Commonwealth;
5. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation;
6. The Virginia Historic Landmarks Board;
7. The local government in which the real property is located; or
8. Any other governmental agency or person with standing under other statutes or common law.
1988, cc. 720, 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1014. Validity

A conservation easement is valid even though:
1. It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property;
2. It can be or has been assigned to another holder;
3. It is not of a character that has been recognized traditionally at common law;
4. It imposes a negative burden;
5. It imposes affirmative obligations upon the owner of an interest in the burdened property or upon the holder;
6. The benefit does not touch or concern real property; or
7. There is no privity of estate or of contract.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a conservation easement may be created, conveyed, recorded, assigned, released, modified, terminated, or otherwise altered or affected in the same manner as other easements.
1988, cc. 720, 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1015. Conveyance to the Commonwealth

Whenever any holder as defined in this chapter, or the successors or assigns thereof, shall cease to exist, any conservation easement and any right of enforcement held by it shall vest in the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, unless the instrument creating the easement otherwise provides for its transfer to some other holder or public body. In an easement vested in the Virginia Outdoors Foundation by operation of the preceding sentence, the Foundation may retain it or thereafter convey it to any other public body or any holder the Foundation deems most appropriate to hold and enforce such interest in accordance with the purpose of the original conveyance of the easement.
1988, cc. 720, 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1016. Savings clause

Nothing herein shall in any way affect the power of a public body under any other statute, including without limitation the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Historic Landmarks Board, to acquire and hold conservation easements or affect the terms of any such easement held by any public body.
1988, cc. 720, 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.1 - Virginia Conservation Easement Act › § 10.1-1016.1. Construction

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an easement held pursuant to this chapter shall be construed in favor of achieving the conservation purposes for which it was created.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 274, 317.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1018.1. Reporting

The chairman of the Board shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly, including the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, and to the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget an executive summary and report of the activity and work of the Board on or before December 15 of each year. The document shall report on the status of the Foundation and its Fund, including (i) land conservation targeting tools developed for the Foundation; (ii) descriptions of projects that received funding; (iii) a description of the geographic distribution of land protected as provided in § 10.1-1021.1; (iv) expenditures from, interest earned by, and financial obligations of the Fund; and (v) progress made toward recognized state and regional land conservation goals, including what percentage of properties conserved were identified by ConserveVirginia, pursuant to § 10.1-104.6:1, and a summary of the conservation values that were protected. The report shall also estimate the funds needed to achieve goals established by the Board for (a) natural area protection, (b) open spaces and parks, (c) farmland preservation, (d) forest land preservation, (e) historical and cultural sites, (f) meeting the needs of under-resourced communities, and (g) any other goal determined by the Board. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
2005, c. 633; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 99; 2022, c. 705.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1019. Executive secretary; land management

A. The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall serve as executive secretary to the Foundation and shall be responsible for providing technical assistance and performing any administrative duties that the Foundation may direct.
B. The Department of Conservation and Recreation shall administer the Foundation's lands as if such lands were departmental lands, and the regulations established by the Director for the management and protection of departmental lands shall apply to real estate held by the Foundation. The Department's conservation officers commissioned under § 10.1-115 shall have jurisdiction on all of the Foundation's lands and waters.
1992, c. 426; 2000, c. 1053.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1021.1. Geographic distribution of land protected

The Foundation shall seek to achieve a fair distribution of land protected throughout the Commonwealth, based upon the following:
1. The importance of conserving land in all regions of the Commonwealth;
2. The importance of protecting specific properties that can benefit all Virginia citizens; and
3. The importance of addressing the particular land conservation needs of areas of the state where Fund moneys are generated.
2000, c. 1053.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1021.2. Additional powers of the Foundation; requests for conservation easement dispute mediation

Any private owner of the fee interest in land that is subject to a perpetual conservation easement pursuant to Chapter 10.1 (§ 10.1-1009 et seq.), any holder of such an easement, or any holder of a third-party right of enforcement of such an easement may submit a request, pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Foundation, that the Foundation utilize the process set forth in the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, Chapter 41.1 (§ 2.2-4115 et seq.) of Title 2.2, to resolve a dispute that is not part of a dispute already in litigation and arises out of or relates to the interpretation or administration of a conservation easement made or entered into pursuant to Chapter 10.1 (§ 10.1-1009 et seq.).
2015, c. 44.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1022. Expenditure of restricted funds

The Foundation shall expend restricted funds only in accordance with the applicable restrictions, or allocate such funds to the designated or otherwise appropriate state agency subject to such restrictions. The state agency receiving restricted funds shall expend such funds only in accordance with the applicable restrictions. The Board of Trustees may make such recommendations as are appropriate to the agencies responsible for spending any restricted funds, and the agencies shall consider such recommendations prior to the expenditure of restricted funds received from the Foundation. State agencies and departments receiving funds directly for expenditure for a purpose for which the Foundation is created shall solicit and consider the advice of the Board with respect to the expenditure of such funds prior thereto. This section shall not affect the authority of the Foundation to exercise its discretion with regard to the expenditure or allocation of unrestricted funds received by the Foundation.
1992, c. 426.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1022.1. Expenditure of funds for natural area protection

A. No matching grant shall be made from the Fund to any holder or public body for purchasing an interest in land for the protection of a natural area unless:
1. The holder or public body has demonstrated the necessary commitment and financial capability to manage the property; and
2. The Department has, after reviewing the grant application as provided in subsection B, recommended that the grant be made.
B. Natural area grant applications shall be submitted to the Foundation, which shall forward the application to the Department. The application shall include a budget for the proposed purchase and for the management of the property. The Department shall consider the following in making its recommendation on whether the grant should be made:
1. Whether the project will make a significant contribution to the protection of habitats for rare, threatened, or endangered plant or animal species, rare or state-significant natural communities, other ecological resources, or natural areas of Virginia;
2. Whether the area addresses a protection need identified in the Virginia Natural Heritage Plan;
3. The rarity of the elements targeted for conservation;
4. The size and viability of the site; and
5. Whether the holder or public body has the capability to protect the site from short-term and long-term stresses to the area.
C. Matching grant funds provided pursuant to this section shall be expended by the holder or public body within two years of receiving the funds, except that the Department may grant an extension of up to one year.
D. All property for which a matching grant is made pursuant to this section shall be dedicated as a natural area preserve as provided in § 10.1-213. Any such preserve that was purchased in fee simple by the holder or public body shall be open for public access for a reasonable amount of time each year, except as is necessary to protect sensitive resources or for management purposes, as determined by the holder or public body pursuant to an agreement with the Department.
1999, cc. 900, 906; 2001, cc. 164, 168.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1024. Gifts and bequests to Foundation

Gifts, devises and bequests of money, securities and other assets accepted by the Foundation, whether personal or real property, shall be deemed to be gifts to the Commonwealth, which shall be exempt from all state and local taxes and shall be regarded as property of the Commonwealth for the purposes of all tax laws.
1992, c. 426; 2000, c. 1053.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1025. Forms of accounts and records; audit of same

The accounts and records of the Foundation showing the receipt and disbursement of funds from whatever source derived shall be in such form as the Auditor of Public Accounts prescribes, provided that such accounts shall correspond as nearly as possible to the accounts and records for such matters maintained by similar enterprises. The accounts and records of the Foundation shall be subject to audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts or his legal representative as determined necessary by the Auditor of Public Accounts, and the costs of such audit services shall be borne by the Foundation. The Foundation's fiscal year shall be the same as the Commonwealth's.
1992, c. 426; 2018, cc. 57, 307.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.2 - Virginia Land Conservation Foundation › § 10.1-1026. Cooperation of state agencies

All state officers, agencies, commissions, boards, departments, institutions and foundations shall cooperate with and assist the Foundation in carrying out its purpose and, to that end, may accept any gift or conveyance of real property or interest therein or other property in the name of the Commonwealth from the Foundation. Such property shall be held in possession or used as provided in the terms of the trust, contract or instrumentality by which it was conveyed.
2000, c. 1053.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 10.3 - Wild Spanish Mustangs Fund › § 10.1-1027. Wild Spanish Mustangs Fund established; administration; purpose

There is hereby established in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Wild Spanish Mustangs Fund, hereafter referred to as the Fund. The Fund shall consist of such moneys as may be appropriated by the General Assembly and such other moneys as may be made available from any other source, public or private. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund, but shall remain in the Fund. The Fund shall be administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Any expenditure from the Fund shall be subject to the recommendations of the Park Manager at False Cape State Park, with advice and consultation from the City of Virginia Beach, local legislators, and interested community members. The Fund shall be used for the general purpose of protecting the herd of wild Spanish mustangs on the barrier islands of Virginia. Allocations may include, but are not limited to, the erection and maintenance of fences to restrict the entrance of wild horses into Virginia, the transporting of any wild horses that do reach Virginia back to North Carolina, and other measures to protect these horses and promote their retention in North Carolina, as determined by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
2007, c. 37.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1100. Department of Forestry; appointment of the State Forester

The Department of Forestry, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the Department, is continued as an agency under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. The Department shall be headed by the State Forester, who shall be appointed by the Governor to serve at his pleasure for a term coincident with his own.
Any vacancy in the office of the State Forester shall be filled by appointment by the Governor pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Virginia.
The State Forester shall be a technically trained forester and shall have both a practical and theoretical knowledge of forestry.
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.1; 1988, c. 891; 1993, c. 699.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1100.1. Certified mail; subsequent mail or notices may be sent by regular mail

Whenever in this chapter the State Forester or the Department is required to send any mail or notice by certified mail and such mail or notice is sent certified mail, return receipt requested, then any subsequent, identical mail or notice that is sent by the State Forester or the Department may be sent by regular mail.
2011, c. 566.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1101. General powers of Department

The Department shall have the following general powers, all of which, with the approval of the State Forester, may be exercised by a unit of the Department with respect to matters assigned to that organizational entity:
1. Employ personnel required to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
2. Make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter, including, but not limited to contracts with private nonprofit organizations, the United States, other state agencies and governmental subdivisions of the Commonwealth;
3. Accept bequests and gifts of real and personal property as well as endowments, funds, and grants from the United States government and any other source. To these ends, the Department shall have the power to comply with conditions and execute agreements as necessary, convenient or desirable;
4. Promulgate regulations necessary or incidental to the performance of duties or execution of powers conferred under this chapter;
5. Receive, hold in trust and administer any donation made to it for the advancement of forest resources of the Commonwealth;
6. Undertake evaluation and testing of products and technologies relating to replacement of petroleum-based lubricants and hydraulic fluids with lubricants and hydraulic fluids made or derived from vegetables or vegetable oil, and promote the use of such products and technologies found to be beneficial in preserving and enhancing environmental quality; and
7. Do all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.2; 1988, c. 891; 1995, c. 111.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1102. Board of Forestry

The Board of Forestry within the Department of Forestry, referred to in this chapter as the Board, shall be composed of 13 members appointed by the Governor. At least two members shall be representatives of the pine pulpwood industry; two members shall be representatives of the pine lumber industry; two members shall be representatives of the hardwood lumber industry; one member shall be a representative of the timber harvesting industry; and two members shall be small forest landowners. In making appointments to the Board, the Governor shall take into account the geographic diversity of board membership as it relates to Virginia's forest resources. Beginning July 1, 2012, the Governor's appointments shall be staggered as follows: four members for a term of one year, three members for a term of two years, three members for a term of three years, and three members for a term of four years. After the initial staggering of terms, appointments shall be for four-year terms. The State Forester shall serve as executive officer of the Board.
No member of the Board, except the executive officer, shall be eligible for more than two successive terms; however, persons subsequently appointed to fill vacancies may serve two additional successive terms after the terms of the vacancies they were appointed to fill have expired. All vacancies in the membership of the Board shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term.
The Board shall meet at least three times a year for the transaction of business. Special meetings may be held at any time upon the call of the executive officer of the Board, or a majority of the members of the Board.
Members of the Board shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred as a result of their membership on the Board.
Code 1950, § 10-84; 1986, c. 539; 1986, c. 567, § 10-84.1; 1988, c. 891; 1990, c. 127; 1992, c. 145; 2011, cc. 691, 714; 2012, cc. 803, 835.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1103. Powers of the Board

A. The Board shall be charged with matters relating to the management of forest resources in the Commonwealth.
B. The Board shall advise the Governor and the Department on the state of forest resources within the Commonwealth and the management of forest resources. The Board shall encourage persons, agencies, organizations and industries to implement development programs for forest resource management and counsel them in such development. In addition, the Board shall recommend plans for improving the state system of forest protection, management and replacement, and shall prepare an annual report on the progress and conditions of state forest work.
C. The Board shall formulate recommendations to the State Forester concerning regulations and other matters applicable to Article 10 (§ 10.1-1170 et seq.), including types of equipment to be purchased, rental rates for equipment, and reforestation practices.
1986, c. 567, § 10-84.2; 1988, c. 891; 2012, cc. 803, 835.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1104. General powers and duties of State Forester

The State Forester, under the direction and control of the Governor, shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed upon him by law and shall perform other duties required of him by the Governor or the appropriate citizen boards.
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.3; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1105. Additional powers and duties of State Forester

A. The State Forester shall supervise and direct all forest interests and all matters pertaining to forestry within the Commonwealth. He shall have charge of all forest wardens and shall appoint, direct and supervise persons he employs to perform labor in the forest reservations or the nurseries provided for herein, and he is authorized to employ temporary forest wardens to extinguish forest fires in the Commonwealth. He shall take such action as is authorized by law to prevent and extinguish forest fires; develop a program to promote the use of prescribed burning for community protection and ecological, silvicultural, and wildlife management; enforce all laws pertaining to forest and woodlands; prosecute any violation of such laws; develop silvicultural best management practices, including reforestation, prevention of erosion and sedimentation, and maintenance of buffers for water quality, pursuant to Article 12 (§ 10.1-1181.1 et seq.); collect information relative to forest destruction and conditions; direct the protection and improvement of all forest reservations; and, as far as his duties as State Forester will permit, conduct an educational course on forestry at the University of Virginia for credit toward a degree, at farmers' institutes and at similar meetings within the Commonwealth. He shall provide for the protection of state waters from pollution by sediment deposition resulting from silvicultural activities as provided in Article 12 (§ 10.1-1181.1 et seq.). In addition, the State Forester shall cooperate with counties, municipalities, corporations and individuals in preparing plans and providing technical assistance, based on generally accepted scientific forestry principles, for the protection, management and replacement of trees, wood lots and timber tracts and the establishment and preservation of urban forests, under an agreement that the parties obtaining such assistance shall pay the field and traveling expenses of the person employed in preparing such plans. The State Forester also shall assist landowners and law-enforcement agencies with regard to reported cases of timber theft. The State Forester shall develop and implement forest conservation and management strategies to improve wildlife habitat and corridors, incorporating applicable elements of any wildlife action plan developed by the Department of Wildlife Resources and the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan developed pursuant to § 29.1-579.
B. Records of the Department composed of confidential commercial or financial information supplied by individuals or business entities to the Department in the course of an investigation of timber theft are excluded from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.4; 1988, c. 891; 1989, c. 215; 1993, c. 948; 1997, c. 7; 1998, c. 156; 1999, c. 220; 2000, c. 997; 2019, cc. 348, 353; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 498.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1105.1. Century forest program

The State Forester shall establish and administer a century forest program to honor families in the Commonwealth whose property has been in the same family for 100 years or more and includes at least 20 contiguous acres of managed forest. In order to be eligible for recognition under the program, a property shall (i) have been owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years; (ii) be lived on, or actually managed by, a descendant of the original owners; and (iii) have a documented history of timber harvests or forest management activities.
2016, c. 6.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1106. State Forester to control forest reserves and funds; reforesting; preservation of timber, etc.

The care, management and preservation of the forest reserves of the Commonwealth and the forests thereon, and all moneys appropriated in that behalf, or collected therefrom in any way, and all personal and real property acquired to carry out the objects of this chapter, shall be subject to the control of the State Forester.
The State Forester shall observe, ascertain, follow and put into effect the best methods of reforesting cutover and denuded lands, foresting wastelands, preventing the destruction of forests by fire, the administering of forests on forestry principles, the instruction and encouragement of private owners in preserving and growing timber for commercial and manufacturing purposes, and the general conservation of forest tracts around the headwaters and on the watersheds of the watercourses of the Commonwealth.
Code 1950, § 10-32; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1108. Waste and unappropriated lands

Any waste and unappropriated land, other than ungranted shores of the sea, marsh or meadowlands exempted from grant by the provisions of § 41.1-3, may be set apart permanently for use as state forest land, by a grant and proclamation signed by the Governor upon the receipt from the State Forester of an application requesting that a certain piece, tract or parcel of waste and unappropriated land be so set apart. The State Forester shall submit with the application a copy of a report describing fully the location of the land, its character and suitability for forestry purposes together with a complete metes and bounds description of the boundary of the tract. The Department of General Services shall review the application and recommend either approval or disapproval of the transaction to the Governor. If the Governor determines that the land is more valuable for forestry purposes than for agricultural or any other purposes, he may authorize the preparation of a grant which shall be reviewed for legal sufficiency by the Attorney General for the Governor's signature and the lesser seal of the Commonwealth.
All lands so granted shall be subject to statutes and regulations relating to the regulation, management, protection and administration of state forests.
Code 1950, § 10-34.2; 1950, p. 225; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 1995, c. 850.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1110. Violation of regulations for supervision of state forests, etc.

Violators of any regulation for the supervision or use of any state forest, park, road, street or highway traversing the same, shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
Code 1950, § 10-43; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1111. Kindling fires on state forests; cutting and removing timber; damaging land or timber

Any person who kindles fire upon any of the state forests of this Commonwealth, except in accordance with regulations prescribed by the State Forester, or who cuts and removes any timber, or who damages or causes the damage of forestland or timber belonging to the Commonwealth, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for each offense committed.
Code 1950, § 10-44; 1986, c. 539; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1112. Notices relating to forest fires and trespasses

The State Forester shall distribute notices, printed in large letters on cloth or other suitable material, calling attention to the danger of forest fires, to the forest fire laws, and to trespass laws and their penalties, to forest wardens, and to owners of timberland to be posted by them in conspicuous places. Any person other than a forest warden or the owner of the land on which notices are posted, who tears down, mutilates or defaces any such notice shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.5; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1113. Not liable for trespass in performance of duties

No action for trespass shall lie against the State Forester, or any agent or employee of the State Forester for lawful acts done in performance of his duties.
1986, c. 567, § 10-31.7; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1114. Establishment of nurseries; distribution of seeds and seedlings

A. The State Forester may establish and maintain a nursery or nurseries, for the propagation of forest tree seedlings, either upon one or more of the forest reservations of the Commonwealth, or upon such other land as he may and which he is empowered to acquire for that purpose. Seedlings from this nursery may be furnished to the Commonwealth without expense for use upon its state forests or other public grounds or parks. Seeds and seedlings may also be distributed to private individuals pursuant to terms and conditions and at prices approved by the State Forester.
B. To the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the preferred method of treatment shall be fumigation using methyl bromide in seedling plant beds prior to seeding.
C. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services or his designee may issue an inspection certificate for intrastate and interstate shipments of conifer and hardwood seedlings to certify that they are apparently free of pests and diseases.
Code 1950, § 10-36; 1968, c. 40; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 2012, cc. 101, 621; 2013, c. 124.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1115. Sale of trees

For the purpose of maintaining in perpetuity the production of forest products on state forests, the State Forester may designate and appraise the trees which should be cut under the principles of scientific forest management, and may sell these trees for not less than the appraised value. When the appraised value of the trees to be sold is more than $50,000, the State Forester, before making such sale, shall receive bids therefor, after notice by publication once a week for two weeks in two newspapers of general circulation. The State Forester shall have the right to reject any and all bids and to readvertise for bids. The proceeds arising from the sale of the timber and trees so sold, except as provided in subsection E of § 10.1-1107, shall be paid into the state treasury as provided in § 10.1-1116, and shall be held in the Reforestation Operations Fund for the improvement or protection of state forests or for the purchase of additional lands.
Code 1950, § 10-37; 1970, c. 31; 1986, cc. 539, 567; 1988, c. 891; 2008, c. 19.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1116. Reforestation Operations Fund

All money obtained from the state forests, except as provided in subsection E of § 10.1-1107, shall be paid into a special nonreverting fund in the state treasury, to the credit of the Reforestation Operations Fund (the Fund). Interest earned on the moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund, but shall remain in the Fund. The moneys in the Fund are to be utilized for state forest protection, management, replacement, and extension, under the direction of the State Forester.
Code 1950, § 10-39; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 2014, c. 263.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1117. Specialized services or rentals of equipment to landowners, localities and state agencies; fees; disposition of proceeds

The State Forester may cooperate with landowners, counties, municipalities and state agencies, by making available forestry services consisting of specialized or technical forestry equipment and an operator, or rent to them such specialized equipment. For such services or rentals, a reasonable fee, representing the State Forester's estimate of the cost of such services or rentals, shall be charged.
All moneys paid to the State Forester for such services or rentals shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the Forestry Operations Fund, to be used in the further protection and development of the forest resources of this Commonwealth. Upon presentation of a statement, the landowner, county, municipality or state agency receiving such services or rentals shall pay to the State Forester, within thirty days, the amount of charge shown on the statement.
1964, c. 513, § 10-54.1; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1118. Account of receipts and expenditures

The State Forester shall keep a full and accurate account of the receipts and expenditures of the Department.
Code 1950, § 10-40; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 2004, c. 58.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1119. Preservation of evidence as to conserving forest supply; reports to General Assembly; publications

The State Forester shall preserve all evidence taken by him with reference to conserving the forests of the Commonwealth and the methods best adapted to accomplish such object. He shall report his actions, conclusions and recommendations to each session of the General Assembly and from time to time publish for public distribution, in bulletin or other form, such conclusions and recommendations as may be of immediate public interest.
Code 1950, § 10-41; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1119.1. State Forests System Fund established

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the State Forests System Fund, hereafter referred to as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All contributions from income tax refunds and any other source shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of developing and implementing conservation and education initiatives in the state forests system. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the State Forester.
1999, c. 998.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1121. Definitions

As used in this article unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Fund" means the Forest Management of State-Owned Lands Fund.
"State-owned lands" means forest land owned or managed by the various departments, agencies and institutions of the Commonwealth and designated by the Department in cooperation with the Division of Engineering and Buildings of the Department of General Services as being of sufficient size and value to benefit from a forest management plan. State-owned land shall not include properties held or managed by the Department of Wildlife Resources, the Department of Forestry, or the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
1980, c. 525, § 10-45.2; 1981, c. 219; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 1989, c. 656; 2020, c. 958.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1122. Management, harvesting, sale of timber on state-owned land

A. The Department in cooperation with the Division of Engineering and Buildings shall develop a forest management plan for state-owned lands with the assistance of affected state agencies, departments and institutions.
B. Prior to the sale of timber from state-owned lands, the proposed sale shall be first approved by the Department and by the Division of Engineering and Buildings. The Department shall make or arrange for all sales so approved and shall deposit all proceeds to the credit of the Fund, except that when sales are made from timber on land held by special fund agencies or the Department of Military Affairs, or from timber on land that is gift property specified in subsection I of § 2.2-1156, the Department shall deposit in the Fund only so much of the proceeds as are needed to defray the cost of the sale and to implement the forestry management plan on that particular tract of land. The remainder of the proceeds from such a sale shall then be paid over to the special fund agency concerned, the Department of Military Affairs, or the agency or institution holding the gift properties, to be used for the purposes of that agency, department, or institution.
1980, c. 525, § 10-45.3; 1981, c. 219; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 2009, c. 612; 2019, cc. 659, 660; 2022, c. 761.
2023 Code of Virginia › Title 10.1 - Conservation › Chapter 11 - Forest Resources and the Department of Forestry › § 10.1-1123. Use of Fund; management, receipt and expenditure of moneys

The Fund shall be used to defray the costs of timber sales, to develop forest management plans for state-owned lands pursuant to § 10.1-1124, and to implement those plans. The Department shall have the authority to manage, receive and expend moneys for and from the Fund for these purposes.
1980, c. 525, § 10-45.4; 1981, c. 219; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.