Our Land
We’re dedicated to protecting land for future generations to enjoy.
Land Conservation
Coastal Virginia Conservancy is committed to saving the last remaining open spaces in south Hampton Roads. With only 10% of land in the Elizabeth River watershed left undeveloped and ever increasing development pressure, the time to act is now. The Conservancy has preserved over 600 acres in just the last 10 years, but there is much more to do.
The most common tools we use to conserve land include:
- Conservation easements
- Gifts (donation) of property
- Part-gift, part-sale transactions (bargain sales)
- Land purchases
- Proffers and mitigation land as part of sound land use planning
- Partnering with other organizations, and identifying grant funds to protect land
We conserve land in all of Coastal Virginia – Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Newport News and Hampton.
The community benefits from conservation of open spaces and natural areas. Because of this civic benefit, there are tax incentives for private landowners who conserve their land through a donation that meets certain criteria, with possible income tax implications at the federal and state level, estate tax benefits at the federal level, and real estate tax reduction at the local level.
“The less of our landscape there is to save, the better our chances of saving it.”
— William H. Whyte, The Last Landscape