Land Preservation
Historic battlefields such as this one in Yorktown, Virginia are among the many special places that have been preserved in the Bay region.
The amount of land in the watershed is a finite resource. Once natural land is developed into a housing subdivision or shopping center, it is gone forever. Parks, wildlife refuges and other preserved lands provide necessary habitat for animals and filter more pollution before it reaches the Bay and its tributaries. Land preservation is an important tool to keep high priority natural and resource lands in the watershed from being developed.
Current Restoration Goal
As of July 2006, a total of 6.83 million acres of land had been permanently preserved in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Bay Program partners are very likely to meet their 2010 goal of permanently protecting from development 20 percent of the Bay watershed land area—approximately 6.92 million acres.
Methods of Land Preservation
Land conservation is supported through federal, state, local and privately funded programs. Protection of land can be achieved through various methods, including:
- Fee purchase
- Easement purchase
- Easement donation
- Purchase of development rights
- Outright land donation
Preserved lands also include:
- County, town, city, state and federal parks
- Designated open space and recreational land
- Publicly owned ranges, forests and wetlands
- Working landscapes, such as farms or forests with easements or management programs
- Historically important land, such as scenic drives, battlefields, colonial towns and farms.
- Military-owned parks and recreational areas
Land Preservation Resources
Maryland
Virginia
Pennsylvania
- Land Conservation: Information about Virginia's land conservation initiative from the Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources.
- Keeping “Open Space” Open: Good background information about the importance of preserving farm and forestland in Maryland from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
- Recreation Planning: Parks, greenways, trails and other programs from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
- Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP): Voluntary land retirement program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect land and restore habitat.