RD319 - Virginia Outdoors Foundation Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2009


Executive Summary:
It took the Virginia Outdoors Foundation 40 years to preserve our first 250,000 acres—a milestone we achieved in 2004. In the next four years, we doubled our portfolio of conservation lands. Today, VOF protects more than half a million acres of Virginia’s open spaces. That’s an area two-and-a-half times the size of Shenandoah National Park. This achievement makes us the preeminent land trust in the Commonwealth by far, and one of the most significant in the nation.

Virginia’s generous tax incentives for voluntary easements have driven this growth. Despite the recent downturn in the economy, we have not seen any indication that the demand to preserve open space will wane anytime soon. This presents an opportunity to preserve even more land for future generations, but it also presents a challenge for VOF to meet the demand during a time when the state’s budget is being cut to the bone.

Like all agencies and businesses, VOF must work smarter and more efficiently. In 2009, we began a strategic planning process to help us achieve these goals. It is clear that VOF, as presently structured and funded, cannot continue to sustain the same dramatic growth of the last few years. We are looking for a responsible and sustainable way forward. We have engaged all of our partners in this process—from state agencies and local governments to private land trusts and conservation groups—to create what we believe will be a roadmap for Virginia’s land conservation efforts in the coming years.

The economic challenges that face Virginia and the nation will impact land conservation, but some of these challenges will also create unique opportunities. Examples of our nation’s most important conservation projects and programs were devised by farsighted leaders as part of a response to the economic stresses of the Great Depression. Potential conservation lands for the enjoyment and nurturing of future generations have not been so reasonably priced in many years. Now may be the best of times to work collaboratively and proactively to protect our most valuable cultural and natural heritage landscapes using all of the tools in the conservation toolbox.

To succeed, VOF must garner both the private and public funding needed to fully support our programs. As we work to earn that support, we pause to reflect on the extraordinary success of the past fiscal year, which was one of our strongest ever. This Annual Report provides just a snapshot of that success across the entire Commonwealth. From the Eastern Shore to the Appalachian Highlands, we protected more than 60,000 acres during FY 2009. Whether the easements protected a family farm, a scenic river, a favorite hunting spot, or simply a beautiful landscape, they all yield demonstrable public benefits. The staff and trustees of VOF are proud of what we have achieved, but our work is far from over. Please join us in sustaining the momentum to protect many more of Virginia’s special places in the years ahead.