Historically the bulk of the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund has been used to pay for the costs of donated easements from landowners with financial need.  The VOF Board of Trustees, in support of Governor McAuliffe’s goal to provide more public access to protected lands, has prioritized a portion of the OSLPTF funds for acquisition of easements that provide public access.

Due to the short time frame, potential applicants are strongly encouraged to call and discuss the proposed project with either Kristin Jones: 434-989-5900 or Leslie Grayson: 703-850-3924 prior to working on a submission. Grant recommendations will be reviewed by VOF Trustees and results announced following our February 9, 2017 Board meeting.

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The Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) was established to promote the preservation of open-space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, scientific, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth. VOF has worked to accomplish this mission primarily through our owned lands and conservation easement programs. Currently, VOF now owns and manages over 3,000 acres in fee simple, and holds open-space easements that protect an additional 780,000 acres, or roughly 80% of the conservation easements held in the Commonwealth, with over 550,000 of that acreage located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

In 1997, the General Assembly created the Open Space Lands Preservation Trust Fund (OSLPTF) to assist landowners with the costs of conveying conservation easements, and in limited instances, to purchase a portion of the value of easements as funds are available. The fund has helped protect land by providing grants to reimburse the landowner costs of donation, providing grants for County Purchase of Development Rights programs, and by providing grants which purchase a portion of the value of an open space easement on significant conservation lands.

The Virginia Outdoors Foundation has historically worked in the rural areas of the Commonwealth.  The VOF Board of Trustees, in support of Governor McAuliffe’s goal to provide more public access to protected lands, has prioritized a portion of the OSLPTF funds for acquisition of easements that provide public access. The McAuliffe administration’s “Treasures” initiative emphasizes high quality conservation with maximum public benefit and specifically water quality improvement and public access opportunities.   VOF has worked to protect open-space lands in urban areas such as Hampton’s Buckroe Beach and Norfolk’s Hermitage Foundation, and is committed to providing public access to open space in urban areas.  We have limited funding from the OSLPTF available in 2017 to work toward this goal.

INITIAL GRANT ROUND FOR OSLPTF PROPOSALS for FY 2017 Easement Purchase Projects – Proposals will be accepted through December 15^th, 2016.  To be considered, please provide the following:-description of project with maps and context, include description of public access and use-any previous grant applications for the project-funding secured or committed, and total project cost and amount needed/requested-description of community and government support-conservation values to be protected, and how an easement component could be incorporated 

Projects will be reviewed by staff in late December and ranked according to the following criteria:-Protection of conservation values-Public access provided, community served, and to what degree-Demonstrated existing community support (demonstrated funding and letters of support from community groups and local government entity(ies))-Amount of leveraging of funds and support

Due to the short time frame, potential applicants are strongly encouraged to call and discuss the proposed project with either Kristin Jones: 434-989-5900 or Leslie Grayson: 703-850-3924 prior to working on a submission. Grant recommendations will be reviewed by VOF Trustees and results announced following our February 9, 2017 Board meeting.