Media Center - News Release
Media inquiries: Please contact Dave Neudeck, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov, 804-786-5053.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 09, 2026
Contact: Emi Endo, Senior Public Relations and Marketing Specialist, 804-786-8442, emi.endo@dcr.virginia.gov
Virginia Land Conservation Foundation opens new grant rounds
(Editors: Follow this link to download an image. Photo caption: The Dragon Run Conservation and Wildlife Corridor in King and Queen County was awarded a Virginia Land Conservation Foundation grant in 2025. Photo courtesy of Friends of Dragon Run.][alt:Photo of trees with light green leaves in swamp.)
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation is now accepting applications for land conservation grants and a special grant program related to mitigation funds.
Up to $17.2 million in land conservation grants will be available through VLCF for the new grant round for fiscal year 2027. Grants will be awarded in the following categories: farmland preservation, forest preservation, historic preservation, natural area protection, and open spaces and parks.
At least $5.2 million will be available. If the appropriations in the proposed state budget are approved, the total amount would be a record $17.2 million.
The program provides 50-50 matching grants for localities and nonprofit conservation entities. State agencies and federally or state-recognized Indian tribes may receive 100%.
The deadline to apply for VLCF grants is Aug. 21.
A virtual workshop for potential VLCF applicants will be held on June 24 at 1:30 p.m.
In 2025, the board awarded $15.5 million to conserve 8,606 acres around the Commonwealth, including new public parks, conservation easements to protect working timberland and farmland, and land acquisitions by Virginia’s tribal nations.
A separate grant round has also opened for projects focused on battlefield conservation, landscape preservation within the James River watershed or landscape-scale conservation along the James River and its shorelines. This funding is part of the $12.5 million that Dominion Energy provided to VLCF in 2017 to mitigate adverse impacts of the Surry-Skiffes Creek-Whealton Transmission Line Project, which crosses the river between Surry and Jamestown.
The remaining balance of $250,000 is available.
The deadline to apply for Surry-Skiffes Creek grants is Sept. 4.
A virtual workshop for potential Surry-Skiffes Creek grant applicants will be held on June 18 at 10 a.m.
Details about the workshops and the grant manuals for both programs will be posted on the VLCF web page at www.dcr.virginia.gov/vlcf.
VLCF board members are appointed by the Governor, Senate and House of Delegates. The board includes the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, who serves as chair, and the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. DCR provides staff support to the board.
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About Land ConservationThe Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Office of Land Conservation works with landowners, land trusts, tribes, localities and other state agencies to conserve land. The staff provide grants and guidance to fund land conservation through the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and Land Preservation Tax Credit programs.
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