A Record Breaking 30th Year for Land Trust of Virginia

A Record Breaking 30th Year for Land Trust of Virginia

Founded in 1992, the Land Trust of Virginia partners with private landowners who wish to voluntarily protect and preserve their working farmland or natural acreage with significant scenic, historic, and ecological value for the benefit of their communities using conservation easements.

In 2022, the Middleburg-based staff set out to honor its 30th year of service with record numbers. In the final days of the year, they surpassed this milestone with a record 21 easements across 31 counties.

“We now hold 30,721 acres in conservation easement across an incredibly diverse Commonwealth,” said board chairman Childs Burden. “Included in those easements are the permanent protection of forests, water corridors, farms, and important historic landmarks that suburban sprawl would otherwise permanently destroy. That is an amazing accomplishment for the future of our landscape.”

One such easement is #237, the Bowman Orchards property, 342.91 acres in Rockingham County and also #238, the Bowman-Hearty property, 165 acres in Shenandoah County.

Both are owned by the Bowman Family, one of the largest apple producers in Virginia. The two properties are near several other protected lands, including three other conservation easements and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. Combined, these properties contain 395 acres of “prime farmland soils” or “farmland soils of statewide Importance,” 51 acres of forest, 1,956 feet of Fort Run stream bed and 2,435 feet of Holmans Creek.

“We have expanded our capacity to meet the ever-increasing demand from landowners to ensure we continue to provide the highest quality conservation work. We are more motivated than ever to maintain this pace and protect our landscape for all Virginians.”---, Ashton Cole, executive director

The Bowman-Hearty property, 165 acres in Shenandoah County.