F2F Easement Meeting Summary (Technical Session #3)

May 17, 2010

Participants:

Sherry Buttrick, VOF

Ches Goodall, ACE – Albemarle County

Jean Lorber, TNC

Rex Linville, PEC

Emily Nelson, TJSWCD

Mike Santucci, VDOF

Rob Farrell, VDOF

F2F Conservation Element

Purpose – Provide a WQ/Forest Cover consideration to landowners that donate a conservation easement that provides direct protection of water quality and/or quantity utilizing forest cover.

Payments for Whole Property Easements are available to landowners who donate a conservation easement on properties that meet the following standards.  The property is at least seventy-five percent forested and borders or includes a perennial or intermittent stream as identified on the USGS topo maps.  The easement terms must include at least a 50’ no-cow-no-plow buffer on all perennial and intermittent streams and retention of at least 50% of the existing forest cover on the property.

Landowner’s would receive a base payment on a sliding scale based on property acreage per the following:

< 40 acres        $3,500

40-99 acres     $7,500

100-149           $8,000

150-199           $8,500

200-249           $9,000

250-299           $9,500

300 +               $10,000

Landowners would then also be available for additional funding for enhancements that increase the water quality protection afforded by the easement.  To include the following:

$500 – Per 1,000 feet of perennial stream buffered.

$1000 – If all riparian buffers (minimum width of fifty feet and length of 250’) are forested or are converted to forest cover, which could include planting or allowing natural regeneration.

$500 – Per additional 50’ of buffer width up to a maximum of 100’ for forested areas and 300’ for open land.  These buffers would have to be at least 250’ feet long and be no-cow-no-plow at a minimum.

$1000 – To increase the requirements of forest cover retention from 50% of the existing forest on the property up to 80-100%.

Maximum payment per property of $15,000.

Payments for Riparian Buffer Easements are available to landowners who are willing to place a conservation easement on riparian buffers that are at least 50’ in width on all the perennial streams on their property.   The buffers would have to protect at least 250’ feet of perennial stream length.

Landowner’s would receive a base payment of $2.50 per linear foot of stream protected and would be eligible for the bonus payments as described above.

Maximum payment per property of $15,000.

Easement Selection – An initial enrollment period until Fall of 2010 and then rank properties according to the F2F criteria as well as length of streams protected and extent of forest cover.   Depending on demand and funding availability, a second enrollment period could be held in the Fall of 2011.