Conservation Organizations & Land Trusts
American Farmland Trust
Founded in 1980 by a group of farmers and conservationists concerned about the rapid loss of the nation's farmland to development, American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting our nation's strategic agricultural resources.
Blue Ridge Foothills Conservancy
http://www.blueridgefoothillsconservancy.org
Chartered in 1998, the Blue Ridge Foothills Conservancy is a private, non-profit land trust working primarily in Madison and Greene counties in central Virginia whose mission is to conserve, through voluntary land protection, the agricultural, scenic, natural, historic and recreational resources that define the rural character of our communities.
Culpeper Soil & Water Conservation District
The Culpeper Soil & Water Conservation District promotes the stewardship of soil and water and the conservation of our natural resources by educating and providing technical assistance to manage, protect, and enhance the land and water for the benefit and enjoyment of the citizens of Culpeper, Greene, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock Counties.
Headwaters Farm-to-Table Program
http://www.headwatersfdn.org/Farm2Table/index.html
The mission of the Farm-to-Table Program is to cultivate students who are good stewards of the earth and productive community members through classroom study of horticulture, cultivation of school gardens, and hands-on experiences at local family farms.
Krebser Fund for Rappahannock County Conservation
http://www.pecva.org/...Krebser-Fund-For-Rappahannock-County-Conservation
The Krebser Fund was created by the Rappahannock County Conservation Alliance (RCCA), Rappahannock Farmers Association (RFA), Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP), and Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC). It will be used to protect selected properties in Rappahannock County through the acquisition of properties and conservation easements.
Land Trust of Virginia
The Land Trust of Virginia helps landowners to voluntarily limit development while keeping the land open for forestry, farming, and recreation.
Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems and acts as the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,600 land trusts across America.
Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC)
The Piedmont Environmental Council is a 35-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty. PEC also acts as a land trust by accepting selected conservation easements that are often too small to meet the criteria of Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of Our Watersheds
The RappFLOW mission is to help preserve, protect, conserve and restore water resources and watersheds in Rappahannock County.
Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP)
The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection is dedicated to preserving the natural resources and rural character of Rappahannock County, Virginia.
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.
Virginia Cooperative Extension
http://offices.ext.vt.edu/rappahannock
Virginia Cooperative Extension responds to the needs of individuals, families, groups and organizations with educational programs in the three broad areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H youth development.
Virginia Department of Forestry
The Department of Forestry seeks to protect and develop healthy, sustainable forest resources and will consider easements on properties that are at least 50 acres and 75% forested whose landowners are willing to actively forest the land under a forest stewardship management plan.
Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF)
http://www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org/
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is the primary easement-holder in Virginia and seeks "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, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth."
Conservation Easement Resources
PEC Resources for Landowners
http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,110,0,0,html/Resources-for-Landowners/
VOF Easement Templates and Policies
http://www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org/VOF_documents.php/
All the documents you need (in pdf format) to donate an easement.
Other County & Regional Organizations
Rappahannock County Farmers Association
The Rappahannock Farmers Association is dedicated to sustainable agriculture for the 21st century while preserving our county's unique heritage.
Rappahannock County Government
http://www.rappahannockcountyva.gov/
The official County website.
Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission
The Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission serves the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock, and the towns of Culpeper, Gordonsville, Madison, Orange, Remington, Warrenton and Washington. They provide professional planning and technical resources, a concerted approach to regional cooperation, planning assistance with program delivery, and a forum for the interaction of appointed and elected local government officials and citizen members.
