|
|||||||
 |
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) created and what is it? The Virginia Outdoors Foundation was created by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly (Chapter 18 of Title 10.1) in 1966. VOF is defined by the Act as a ‘body politic’ of the Commonwealth and is governed by a seven member Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor for four-year staggered terms. The Attorney General’s Office has opined that VOF is both a State Agency and an independent instrumentality. VOF as the name indicates is also a public foundation and can “…accept, hold, and administer gifts and bequests of money, securities, or other property, absolutely or in trust, for the purposes for which the Foundation is created.” The Act has language regarding role and function, but a good summation of the VOF legislative charge may be that VOF is steward of the natural and cultural heritage land resources of Virginia on behalf of present and future citizens. VOF is a custodian of the ‘uncommon wealth’ for which Virginia has long been revered. What is the major difference between the Open-Space Land Act (1966) and the Virginia Conservation Easement Act (1988)? Only public entities are authorized to hold easements under the Open-Space Land Act. The Open-Space Land Act provides stronger protections against public taking of private property, and extinguishment of an easement is much more difficult under the Open-Space Land Act than under the Virginia Conservation Easements Act. The 1966 Virginia Open-Space Land Act may be the strongest conservation easement legislation in the nation while the 1988 Virginia Conservation Easements Act is based on the Model Conservation Easements Act and authorizes private non-profit conservation organizations to hold easements in Virginia. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation holds easements under the Open-Space Land Act of 1966. What is VOF's primary mechanism for achieving its mission? The primary mechanism for accomplishing VOF’s mission is the open space easement. VOF holds currently easements on over 400,000 acres in 98 local jurisdictions. These easements protect a wide variety of natural resources, including farm and forest land, natural areas, watershed areas, rural historic districts and the settings for historic homes, scenic views, lands adjacent to public parks and game preserves. Through gifts of property, the VOF owns approximately 3,500 acres of open land plus one historic site. Some of these sites help meet a demand for public access and low-intensity recreational use at negligible cost to the Commonwealth. See the VOF Owned Lands section of our website for more information.
|
