Regional land trust outlines conservation gains and warns Goochland faces rapid farmland conversion

At the May 6 meeting of the Goochland County Board of Supervisors, Parker Agelasto, executive director of the Capital Region Land Conservancy, presented the trust's conservation work across the Richmond region and within Goochland County and urged continued local partnerships.

"We have helped to conserve now over 15,000 acres in our region," Agelasto said. He described how the Conservancy merged with the Goochland Land Alliance in 2014 and now holds three conservation easements in Goochland. Agelasto said conservation easements are perpetual deeds that extinguish certain development rights while allowing landowners to retain property ownership and some reserved rights.

Agelasto highlighted regional and local statistics to contextualize the conservation effort. "Every 30 seconds, we're losing a football field worth of America's natural areas to some sort of converted use," he said. He told the board that, in Goochland County, approximately "4 and a half percent" of land is under permanent conservation and cited U.S. agricultural-census figures showing Goochland lost "28% of its farmland" between 2017 and 2022 while population grew by about 15%.

The presentation covered technical tools and partnerships: the Conservancy's mapping aligned with local comprehensive plans, co-holding easements with the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District under the Open Space Act, and the use of Virginia's land preservation tax credit (a state tax credit equal to 40% of value that can be sold) to support easement donations.

Supervisor questions focused on flexibility in easement language (for example, whether additional structures can be allowed) and fiscal impacts. Agelasto said easements can be written to reserve certain future rights for owners and cited studies in nearby localities showing positive fiscal outcomes from conserved land paired with outdoor-recreation-driven economic activity.

Tad Thompson, a local landowner whose property at Tuckahoe is under easement, and other residents attended and reiterated that easements can help families preserve farms and historic sites. The presentation closed with an offer to work with county staff and planning to identify where conservation is most appropriate in the county's future land-use framework.

Board questions and community comments indicated interest in outreach, education on tax-credit options and potential partnerships to increase local conservation.