Arlington at Stake

As Northern Virginia’s regional  land trust, we work across many county and city jurisdictions, from southern and rural regions like Spotsylvania and Fauquier to urban areas like Arlington and Alexandria. Our relationships with counties are fairly distinctive from other land trusts in that we receive financial support for being these localities' official land conservation organization. Our work for counties often reaches beyond protecting private and public land for the benefit of all; we frequently stand with counties to push green initiatives, host educational conservation events, lead long-term planning efforts, participate in multiple forms of community outreach, and provide our land protection expertise to resident landowners. These partnerships are crucial to our work and comprise a little over a third of our annual funding.  

We are incredibly grateful to counties and cities that have , and continue to, invest in our work in their jurisdiction.  When these partnerships are finalized, we enter into agreements or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) together , which outline expectations for each party throughout the agreement. Our primary role is to conserve lands and waters within that county or city, and these collaborations often make it much easier for landowners to protect their land. At present, NVCT has formal partnerships with Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County and Stafford County.   

Many of NVCT’s members and supporters are Arlington residents, and we have one of our longest-running county partnerships. For the past two decades, NVCT has partnered with Arlington County to fund our work across the county. This investment has led to 33 landscapes protected with conservation easements, and six small nature preserves that NVCT now owns and manages. We are disappointed to share that due to budget uncertainty, the Arlington County Manager and Director of Parks and Recreation recommended our partnership not be continued after this fiscal year (ending June 31st).  

NVCT annually receives $86,900 from the Arlington County budget, or a little less than one dedicated staff person to work across the jurisdiction. The overall value our conserved properties and preserves provide is worth much more to the county than the annual $86,900 in funds provided to NVCT annually. Over the past three years since NVCT’s last MOU renewal, the organization has contributed $351,000 in financial value for the County’s approximate $260,000 investment.  

If you are an Arlington resident and have ever enjoyed seeing a fox cross your path, sitting under the shade of a tree on a hot day, or taking a trip through history by visiting a historic site, you can look to the collaboration between NVCT and Arlington County as a reason that place is protected forever.

At a recent public hearing on the county budget, NVCT supporters and champions had an opportunity to weigh in with the county board on NVCT’s significant value to Arlington. We are so grateful to all who have made their voices heard.  

Land trust work means taking a long view with landowners considering easements, bequests, family financial planning, etc. – in other words, many projects take years to develop. The Terborgh property success in 2022 is a perfect example of this. Had NVCT not worked closely with Anne Terborgh for over a decade on conservation options, the county would not have received new parkland, and NVCT would not have been managing a new community garden. Lost funding from Arlington could mean that NVCT can no longer guarantee that landowner relationships and sensitive family discussions will continue at a level that will ultimately lead to essential conservation outcomes in the future. 

Since the Terborgh property acquisition in 2022, NVCT has worked alongside Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture to begin growing crops at the TTG for donations to Arlington food pantries, helping combat food insecurity in the area. We have received funding and supplies while building partnerships with businesses such as Nestle to install the vital infrastructure needed to start growing produce. Still, without the full support of Arlington County, we fear it will all be for naught. The long-term expenses of running this garden will be tough to cover without continued, steady support. This project is beginning to take off, and it would be an actual loss if we could not keep the garden going after the support it has received from organizations like FOUA and private donations from Arlington residents.  

We often provide counties and residents with land use expertise and lend our voice when counties are making long-term environmental decisions that can bring sustainability and health to our region. For instance, NVCT was a key contributor to Arlington’s Forestry and Natural Resources Plan, which the county board approved just over a year ago. No fewer than 11 of the plan’s recommendations include NVCT as an essential partner, and we hope the commitment remains to implement that critical plan.  

Arlington also needs more and more taxpayer dollars to fund invasive plant removal. Many of NVCT’s conservation easements are adjacent to parks and county-owned lands, and the organization’s partnerships, volunteer events, and outside funding have successfully controlled invasive plants on those sites. Without further funding support, invasive plant management would be in jeopardy, likely costing the county more. 

Despite investing more into Arlington County than the organization is being funded annually, and as costs have risen for all goods and services across the board, NVCT has not asked for a base funding increase from Arlington County since FY 15. Cost-of-living adjustments have increased NVCT’s county-supported funds by slightly less than $7,000 over the past decade, but by nearly all measures, NVCT is already working more for less each year based on inflation and prices.  

If our budget is cut, we will have little to no power to continue funding everything we accomplish in Arlington County. Removal of invasives, the continuation of the Terborgh Terrace Garden, and the conservation of land in the area will all be at risk. Arlington is a growing urban area with limited natural open spaces; without this partnership, it would be nearly impossible for us to grow the number of green spaces in Arlington. While we are incredibly disheartened and frustrated with where things are, there is still time to change our future and save the future of Arlington’s nearby nature.  

When it’s all said and done, NVCT’s annual financial support from Arlington represents .00005 percent of the county’s overall budget, an investment well worth making in our communities for wildlife protection, clean water, natural areas, trails, tree canopy, and overall livability at a time when overdevelopment and climate change are reshaping our neighborhoods and adversely affecting quality of life.    

We were blown away by the response when we asked Arlington residents and landowners to stand with us and voice their concerns over this proposed budget cut. Some came to the budget hearing and commented publicly, others sent letters on our behalf, and some made phone calls. We’re grateful to all who have made clear just how vital our collaborative work is and how much they value the job we accomplish. 

At the time this article is being published, the Arlington board is considering and hopefully adopting a budget amendment that would restore NVCT’s annual funding for the following year. This would be a great result, but we have heard loudly and clearly that future investment in NVCT is very tenuous as the county wrestles with many competing budget priorities in an increasingly challenging economic environment. At multiple points over the next few months, the board may need to revisit its budget projections in light of the fiscal uncertainty we face, and NVCT’s annual investment of dollars could again be in jeopardy. 

That means we can’t let up and we need county leaders to continue to hear from residents and stakeholders that NVCT is a critical partner to invest in. County board members can be reached:  

Open Door Mondays

or in writing via email to countyboard@arlingtonva.us

Thank you for letting our local leaders know that NVCT’s work matters to you. We are all being impacted in different ways by the economic uncertainty that lies before us, and we will do everything we can to continue this partnership that has done so much good in Arlington over the last two decades.