Va. Code » Title 10.1. Conservation » Subtitle I. Activities Administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation » Chapter 10.1. Virginia Conservation Easement Act
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 10.1-1010 (2026)

Creation, acceptance and duration

✓ current as of May 2026
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A. A holder may acquire a conservation easement by gift, purchase, devise or bequest.

B. No right or duty in favor of or against a holder and no right in favor of a person having a third-party right of enforcement arises under a conservation easement before its acceptance by the holder and a recordation of the acceptance.

C. A conservation easement shall be perpetual in duration unless the instrument creating it otherwise provides a specific time. For all easements, the holder shall (i) meet the criteria in § 10.1-1009 and (ii) either have had a principal office in the Commonwealth for at least five years, or be a national organization in existence for at least five years which has an office in the Commonwealth and has registered and is in good standing with the State Corporation Commission. Until a holder has met these requirements, the holder may co-hold a conservation easement with another holder that meets the requirements.

D. An interest in real property in existence at the time a conservation easement is created is not impaired by it unless the owner of the interest is a party to the conservation easement or consents to it in writing.

E. No conservation easement shall be valid and enforceable unless the limitations or obligations created thereby conform in all respects to the comprehensive plan at the time the easement is granted for the area in which the real property is located.

F. This chapter does not affect the power of the court to modify or terminate a conservation easement in accordance with the principles of law and equity, or in any way limit the power of eminent domain as possessed by any public body. In any such proceeding the holder of the conservation easement shall be compensated for the value of the easement.

1988, cc. 720, 891; 2000, c. 182; 2003, c. 1014; 2004, c. 364.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2016–2024 · leading case: Wetlands Am. Trust, Inc. v. White Cloud Nine Ventures, L.P., 782 S.E.2d 131 (Va. 2016).
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Wetlands Am. Trust, Inc. v. White Cloud Nine Ventures, L.P., 782 S.E.2d 131 (Va. 2016). · cites it 2× “1-1009, coupled with a "perpetual" duration, Code § 10.1-1010(C), that places the conservation easement at odds with the common law.”
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC v. 23.74 Acres of Land, Owned by Mark W. Cronk, Alison G. Cronk & the Nature Conservancy (W.D. Va. 2024). · cites it 2× “See Va. Code Ann. § 10.1-1010 (F). As discussed next (and in conjunction with TNC’s summary judgment motion), TNC’s admissions and the court’s conclusion that there has been no abrogation, in conjunction with the language in paragraphs 16 and 17 of the Easement Contract, compel…”
Va. Code Ann. § 10.1-1010(C): 1 case
Wetlands Am. Trust, Inc. v. White Cloud Nine Ventures, L.P., 782 S.E.2d 131 (Va. 2016). “1-1009, coupled with a "perpetual" duration, Code § 10.1-1010(C), that places the conservation easement at odds with the common law.”
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