VA Forest Legacy Grant Program

VA Forest Legacy Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Virginia Department of Forestry
Last Updated: August 01, 2025

Summary

The VA Forest Legacy Grant Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Forestry, aims to protect vital forestlands threatened by development. Through collaboration with the USDA Forest Service, the program offers federal funding for projects that purchase conservation easements or land from willing owners. This initiative promotes sustainable resource management, preserves wildlife habitats, and ensures clean water and air for Virginians. By safeguarding these forests, the program fosters economic incentives and maintains the ecological integrity of Virginia's natural resources.

Overview

About the Forest Legacy Program The federal government established the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) with the intent to partner with state agencies to protect important forestlands under threat of conversion to other uses. This USDA Forest Service program uses federal grant funding to support state efforts to identify and protect important private forest tracts threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. FLP funding helps states purchase land or conservation easements to protect forestlands that provide public benefits, including sustainable forest resources, clean water and air, wildlife habitat, and forested scenic views, as well as protect sensitive sites and essential habitat for threatened and endangered species. Forest Legacy Program in Virginia FLP-awarded federal funds help facilitate the purchase of conservation easements or fee simple acquisitions from a willing landowner. The FLP is geared towards large, landscape-scale projects that either involve a single landowner with significant landholdings or involve multiple tracts with different landowners that do not necessarily need to be contiguous but must have an overarching connection. Due to their sheer size and the rhythm of the federal funding, FLP projects have a multi-year timeline for completion. One of the primary tenets of the FLP is to ensure the conservation of working forests to provide a multitude of benefits to Virginians including sustainable forest resources, clean water and air, forested scenic views, as well as protection of sensitive sites and essential habitat for threatened and endangered species. Providing strong economic incentives to landowners to keep their existing forestland through purchase of conservation easements helps facilitate sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for forest products. Loss of forested areas poses an increasing threat to the integrity of Virginia’s natural resources. As these areas are fragmented and disappear, so do the benefits they provide.

Eligibility

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