Preserving Wildlife Habitat
Strategic conservation efforts help maintain biological diversity, protect rare ecological communities, and retain blocks of habitat forhunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. Ninety percent of all VOF easements contain land identified as an ecological "core". In the Shenandoah Valley, targeted outreach resulted in conservation of 1000+ acres of wildlife corridor linking Shenandoah National Park and George Washington National Forest.

Conserving Working Farms and Forests
Proactive conservation ensures that the basic inputs for farming and forestry -- an adequate supply of land and water -- will be available in the future. VOF easements protect over 160,000 acres of land containing prime soils Easements with Virginia's Eastern Shore Land Trust total nearly 8,000 acres -- and all of these easements protect prime farming soils.

Ensuring Clean and Plentiful Water
Healthy watersheds require forests, vegetation and open ground to filter precipitation and store moisture. In areas where 10% or more of the surface is impervious, water quality is likely to be impaired. Over one third of the Goose Creek watershed (over 77,000 acres) is protected through conservation easements. Eastern Loudoun County and the City of Fairfax rely on Goose Creek for their public water supply.

Continuing Virginia's Historic Legacy
Domestic tourists spend over $16 billion in Virginia annually. Tourism accounts for nearly $700 million in state tax receipts and $435 million in revenue to localities every year. People come to experience the places that tell the story of our nation's history. More than one fifth of core battlefields in the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District are permanently protected. Over 41,500 acres are protected in historic districts around Monticello and Montpelier.

Expanding Recreational Opportunities
Support for land conservation ensures that Virginia's residents and visitors -- now and in the future -- can experience the Commonwealth's exceptional natural beauty. Of the 270,000+ protected by easements in the Virginia's northern Piedmont, more than 130,000 acres are visible from the Appalachian Trail. The Virginia Land Conservation Fund helped create or expand six parks or publicly accessible sites, last year alone.

Restoring the Chesapeake Bay
Land conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a key element of the effort to restore the bay and a Keystone Commitment in the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. State agencies have identified conservation easements as the most likely means of protecting the remaining 239,000 acres needed to fulfill the Cheseapeake Bay 2000 Agreement.

Addressing Global Warming
Land conservation is a key to combating global warming by helping to maintain trees and other natural cover which can help to sequester carbon and keep communities cool. Land conservation is an important component of the "Cool Counties" program, a nationalinitiative being led, in part, by Virginia counties including Fairfax, Alexandria and Caroline.