How a Preserve Is Born: The Making of a Conservation Easement

The Preserve at Long Branch in Prince William County has officially been placed under NVCT’s protection, marking a significant step in expanding public parkland near a very fast developing area. Special Thanks to Fairfax Water for supporting our efforts and helping make this happen! This preserve, adjacent to parks at Doves Landing and Sinclair Mill , joins other protected lands now connected under conservation easements held by NVCT. Together, these areas will form 500 acres of low-impact public parkland, ensuring lasting environmental and recreational benefits. Planning for this project began in 2021 and now,4 years later, the conservation protection of the site has been finalized. So why did it take so long? 

Back in 2021, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors accepted a proffer agreement with Stanley Martin Homes to develop lands adjacent to the park for housing. Proffers are legally binding commitments developers make to offset the impact of their projects—often including donating land for conservation. In this case, Stanley Martin sought rezoning approval for a 146-acre housing development, a move that was widely opposed by residents who wanted to preserve the “Rural Crescent” of Prince William County. NVCT also favored protecting as much land as possible, but when the rezoning was ultimately approved, we focused on achieving the best conservation outcome possible with housing also being built. As a result of the balanced agreement, 169 acres were protected under a conservation easement, ensuring their permanent preservation. Under the agreement, once permanent conservation was finalized, Stanley Martin would transfer ownership of the land to Prince William County, allowing for public management and access. This is exactly what took place. 

Conservation easements are legally binding agreements designed to protect land permanently by giving up future development rights. Once placed under easement, the protections remain in effect forever, regardless of who owns the land in the future. It is NVCT’s responsibility as the easement holder to enforce these protections and ensure the land is maintained according to the agreed-upon terms. Because easements are perpetual, the process of creating and finalizing them is highly detailed and can take months or even years to complete.  

Every detail of an easement must be carefully reviewed and negotiated to ensure the easement aligns with long-term conservation goals. Several factors can delay an easement’s completion, including funding constraints, environmental studies, legal hurdles, and multi-party negotiations. In this case, NVCT also had to wait for development plans to be finalized. This new park is also set to be managed in conjunction with Doves Landing park, meaning that we also had to wait for the new master plan for the park to be completed and adopted in 2022. 

Agreements such as these require extensive review to define what uses will be permitted and which will be prohibited on the land. They also  outline management responsibilities and ensure long-term conservation goals are met. Key parties involved need to go over the agreement many times before the deed can be signed and recorded. In this scenario, those parties included NVCT, legal counsel, the landowner (or developer, in this case), and Prince William County as the municipal authority since this land is planned to be publicly accessible.  

In addition to legal negotiations, the process involves environmental assessments, appraisals to determine the easement value, surveys to document the land’s baseline conditions, and collection of many other supporting documents. These tasks are all completed by NVCT’s land conservation and stewardship team.  We typically begin each project with a model easement template that provides a framework which can be tailored to the specific property and the needs of the landowner. Each property and landowner is unique and has different needs, so a model easement allows us to start at the same baseline and decide what terms are most applicable for the specific project being discussed. 

By 2023, we resumed active negotiations on the terms of the easement. Early 2024 saw the first formal drafts of the agreement presented to our Land Stewardship Committee for review. After several rounds of revisions throughout the year, the easement was finalized and signed on March 7, 2025. The final step will be for Stanley Martin to transfer land ownership to Prince William County, ensuring its stewardship as a passive use recreation park.   

The Preserve at Long Branch lies within the Occoquan River watershed, featuring a mile-long stretch of the Long Branch stream and a fully forested landscape. As part of their proffer agreement, Stanley Martin Homes installed two miles of natural surface trails, trail signage, parking lot signage, and wooded footbridges for stream crossings. Beyond these improvements, no additional recreational infrastructure will be added to preserve the site’s passive recreation status, minimizing human impact on wildlife and natural resources.   

Northern Virginia continues to grow, and while developers are often seen as adversaries in land conservation, they can be critical partners in achieving meaningful preservation outcomes. Natural lands are severely limited in our region, and NVCT’s mission is to protect as much it as possible. In cases like this, where development pressures are unavoidable, collaboration is often the best path forward. The Preserve at Long Branch stands as a testament to how strategic conservation efforts can shape the future of our region, providing a lasting natural refuge while balancing urban growth. Now,  generations to come will have access to this incredible park complex as Prince William County grows and needs more outdoor recreation sites for its thriving population.