Land Trust of Virginia

HELP THE LAND TRUST OF VIRGINIA PROTECT 
OUR FORESTS, FIELDS, WATERWAYS, HISTORIC SITES, AND OPEN SPACES

The Land Trust of Virginia (LTV) partners with private landowners who want to voluntarily protect and preserve their working farms and natural lands—places with significant historic, scenic, and ecological value—for the benefit of our communities. We do this through conservation easements.

WHAT IS A CONSERVATION EASEMENT?

Decades ago, communities across the country realized that local, state, and federal conservation efforts were not enough to keep pace with the rapid loss of open space. In response, private citizens began forming local land trusts to take conservation into their own hands—educating neighbors and protecting the landscapes that define their communities. Today, there are approximately 2,400 private land trusts nationwide, including 28 in Virginia, most with a local focus.

A conservation easement is a voluntary, private legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust—such as LTV—that permanently protects land and its conservation values. Together, the landowner and the land trust craft a customized easement document that safeguards the property’s natural, cultural, and scenic attributes.

The landowner retains ownership of the property, but the easement becomes a permanent part of the deed and remains in effect even if the land changes hands.

Conservation easements help protect water quality, preserve cultural and historic sites, support plant and animal communities, sustain working farms and forests, and enhance the quality of life for all who call Virginia home.

ABOUT LTV

Founded in 1992, the Land Trust of Virginia emerged from a shared concern that our region’s countryside, farmland, and historic places were disappearing to development. Volunteers mobilized to encourage landowners to permanently retire development rights through conservation easements—legal agreements recorded with the property deed and upheld forever.

To date, LTV has partnered with more than 280 landowners, conserving over 38,000 acres across 39 Virginia counties. Thanks to their leadership, thousands of acres of farms, forests, wildlife habitat, waterways, wetlands, and historic landscapes are now permanently protected.

LTV is proud to be the Commonwealth’s premier private land trust, holding more conservation easements than any other private land trust in Virginia. We are accredited by the national Land Trust Alliance, a mark of excellence, ethical practice, and long-term commitment to conservation.

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