Albemarle County’s Acquisition of Conservation Easements (ACE) program recently acquired its 38th property: the 96 acre Fairview Farm, near Crozet. Concerned with the prospect of future development, farm owners sought ACE’s help to shield their land from commercial use and preserve its natural resources, including a major stream that contributes to the county’s public drinking water supply. The current owners will retain the farm, which will continue to function as a local site for hay production and livestock grazing.
The ACE program has protected over 17,000 acres in Albemarle thanks, in part, to private donations totaling $1.5 million. In recent years, however, the program has struggled to meet its conservation goals and suffered the effects of an economic recession. In 2008, Albemarle County set a benchmark of placing 30,000 additional acres under easement by 2010. Albemarle has currently preserved less than a quarter of that land size, but will accept new ACE applications starting June 1.
Between 2000 and 2010, 87 applicants asked the ACE program to conserve their land; 37 of those requests were approved. In addition to environmental protection, conservation easements offer landowners federal and state tax incentives. Fairview Farm was acquired thanks in part to a grant from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.