Department of Conservation and Recreation

Greetings!
Welcome to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's website. We hope it provides you with useful information and acquaints you with the many ways we serve the commonwealth's citizens. Thanks for visiting and please come back often!

Conservation, Wise Use
Ultimately our livelihood, quality of life and future depend on how intelligently all of us manage our natural resources. With this in mind, the department enhances natural and recreational resources through land management planning, funding, education and regulation. Nearly everyone in Virginia is touched by a DCR activity.

Conservation. It just means wise use. Conserving our resources, protecting them for the future . . . it's not simple work. And we don't handle it alone. We work with many local, volunteer and citizen groups. Whether it's with one of the state's 47 soil and water conservation districts, the Nature Conservancy, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, or a local parks and recreation department, the focus is always on conserving our natural and recreational resources.

The words of one of Virginia's first European visitors, Captain John Smith, are still true today: Heaven and Earth never agreed to frame a better place for man's habitation than Virginia.

Future Virginians have a right to share the meaning of Captain Smith's words.

DCR's mission - The Department of Conservation and Recreation works with Virginians to conserve, protect, and enhance their lands and improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay and our rivers and streams, promotes the stewardship and enjoyment of natural, cultural and outdoor recreational resources, and ensures the safety of Virginia's dams.
DCR's vision - DCR, with the cooperation of partners and customers, is a leader in: providing tangible and lasting improvements to the quality of Virginia's resource lands and waters; serving as a trusted steward of the outdoor recreational and natural resources placed under its care; promoting the conservation and enjoyment of Virginia's diverse and unique environment and rich cultural legacy for future generations; protecting public safety through regulatory programs and conservation law enforcement; and recognizing the value of its dedicated and committed workforce.
Learn about DCR’s regulatory actions by visiting the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall’s website. There you’ll find the agency's and its boards’ regulatory content, such as proposed final regulations, Notices of Intended Regulatory Action, background information, and schedules for public meetings and hearings. Click here to sign up to receive notices (select preferences at the bottom of the form).
Strategic plans - Learn about DCR's and the Chippokes Plantation Farm Foundation's (CPFF) strategic goals and objectives and how they're being achieved. Click here for DCR's Strategic Plan and Service Area Plans. Click here for DCR's Performance Measures. Click here for CPFF's Strategice Plan and Service Area Plans. Click here for CPFF'ss Performance Measures.
Code of ethics - Click here to read DCR's code of ethics.