Conservation easements are critical to the preservation of Virginia’s scenic vistas, agriculture, forests, and watersheds.
For over 50 years, the State of Virginia has provided a private-public partnership approach to preservation of land with public value. Owners of large properties who have chosen to forfeit development rights forever are allowed some State income tax credit as partial compensation.
Beginning in 2002, Virginia allows this donor-landowner to sell and transfer credit to other Virginia income taxpayers when he cannot use all the credit for himself in the allotted years.