The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust is committed to saving nearby nature across the region, with more than 8,000 acres conserved in the last 25 years. But there is more to do. The most common tools NVCT uses to conserve land include:

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• Conservation easements

• Gifts of property

• Land purchases

• Part-gift, part-sale transactions

• Proffers and mitigation land as part of sound land use planning

• Partnering with other organizations, and identifying grant funds to protect land

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The community benefits from conservation of open spaces and natural areas. Because of this civic benefit, there are tax incentives for private landowners who conserve their land through a donation that meets certain criteria, with possible income tax implications at the federal and state level, estate tax benefits at the federal level, and real estate tax reduction at the local level.