In the late 1990s a group of citizens worked to foster legislation to address the need to preserve West Virginia’s productive agricultural land. Their efforts, widely supported by the agricultural community and the general populace, resulted in the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act, which unanimously passed in both houses of the WV legislature. This bill enabled county commissions to create local farmland protection boards, and today, 25 years later, 20 counties have formed such programs. In the ensuing 25 years these programs have protected 43,753 acres on 304 farms.
Nearly $52 million county dollars have been matched with $38.5 million in federal and state dollars to purchase conservation easements from landowners. These funds go directly into the hands of local farming families. Farmers participate in this program for many reasons, the most common one being to preserve a family legacy by choosing to keep their land undeveloped and available for agriculture for future generations.
A conservation easement is permanent in nature and restricts future land uses incompatible with agriculture or protecting natural resources. The perpetual nature is required by West Virginia Code because IRS regulations insist on permanency when a landowner claims a deduction on federal income tax. Many conservation easement transactions include a significant bargain sale to the county farmland protection board, thus creating potential tax savings for the landowner, and making funds available for other applicants to the Farmland Protection Program. To date, the value of such donations exceeds $54 million.
Conserving our scenic and productive working lands also protects forests and wetlands that provide clean water, contributes to a diverse economy, supports local businesses and employs local labor. Our open fields, woodlands, streams and historic rural landscapes sustain some of West Virginia’s main industries – forestry, agriculture, and tourism. By maintaining land for agricultural use, food can be produced locally and that reduces reliance on other nations.
Land conservation is a value that brings West Virginians together, from all political perspectives and all walks of life. This successful program is a hallmark of bipartisan efforts to ensure that we enjoy open space and a vibrant agricultural community in the Mountain State.
Website: www.wfpg.org. WV Association of Farmland Protection Boards, PO Box 232 Union WV 24983
Biography: F. Mark Schiavone is the current chairman of the WV Association of Farmland Protection Boards. He recently retired as executive director of the Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board. In that position, he oversaw the protection of 3,600 acres on 34 farms. The farmland protection program in Berkeley County is the oldest in the state and has protected well over 8,000 acres. Mark holds a Ph.D in biology from the University of Maryland. His 48 acre farm in Jefferson County is under a permanent conservation easement held by the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board since 2011.
