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The Fairfax County Open Space/Historic Preservation Easements Program is committed to
helping owners protect open space, historic resources, scenic vistas, and sensitive natural
areas on their property, enabling these resources to remain in private ownership. Donating a
perpetual easement may qualify for certain federal, state and/or local tax benefits. In addition,
donating a perpetual easement can be beneficial in terms of estate taxes for passing on land or
a treasured historic, scenic, or natural resource intact to the next generation. An easement is
implemented through a deed of easement conveyed by the property owner to an easement-holding
organization such as a private land trust or a government entity.
Fairfax County has entered into a public-private partnership with the Northern Virginia
Conservation Trust (NVCT), a private non-profit land trust eligible to hold easements. This
public-private partnership does not preclude property owners interested in putting easements on
their properties from working with any other qualified easement-holding entity. These include
qualified county or regional authorities and agencies, as well as local, state or national non-profit
land trusts. For example, the Fairfax County Park Authority and the Northern Virginia Regional
Park Authority each hold easements for open space and park purposes. The Potomac
Conservancy specializes in holding easements on properties along the Potomac River and
holds easements in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The McLean Land Conservancy focuses on the McLean area.
Open space/historic preservation easements allow individual landowners to permanently protect
their land or historic structure while continuing to own and enjoy it. Because these easements
are generally perpetual and run with the land, the terms of the easement bind the current
property owner, heirs, and those who purchase the property in the future.
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