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Senate subcommittee advances bill to set statewide land‑conservation goals, aims for 20% protected by 2035
Summary
Senate Bill 1198, carried by Sen. Deeds, would direct state agencies to recommend voluntary land‑protection goals — including a target to conserve 20% of Virginia’s land by 2035 — and formalizes consultation and reporting requirements. The subcommittee adopted line amendments and voted 5-0 to report the bill.
Senate Bill 1198, introduced by Senator Thomas K. Deeds, would direct state agencies to recommend voluntary statewide goals for land conservation, including a stated target to conserve 20% of Virginia’s land by 2035 by conserving roughly 74,000 acres per year.
The bill’s sponsor said the measure builds on prior, voluntary land‑conservation efforts and tax incentives that helped expand conservation easements in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “And this bill is simply a bill that allows us to set goals,” Senator Deeds said during the Rural Affairs Subcommittee hearing.
Supporters and the bill’s sponsors told the subcommittee the goal is ambitious but achievable. Deeds cited past years — 2007 through 2010 and again in 2014 — when the Commonwealth exceeded the annual rate now…
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