FAQ

Nature is essential to Virginian livelihoods, traditions, and wellbeing. It is the foundation for thriving economies and healthy, safe communities.

  • Air & Water. Protecting nature is a cost-effective way to protect irreplaceable, life-sustaining essentials like clean water and air.
  • Economy. Nature is the foundation for Virginia’s three largest industries – agriculture, tourism, and forestry. Virginia’s landscapes and outdoor recreation opportunities also help attract new visitors, businesses, and workers to our state.
  • Resilience. Investing in nature increases community resilience to hazards like extreme heat and flooding.
  • Health. Access to the outdoors is strongly linked to improved mental and physical health outcomes, especially for children and the elderly. Spending time outside improves cognitive and emotional well-being, reduces anxiety and depression, and lowers rates of major diseases.
  • Legacy. Our way of life is defined and shaped by beloved, iconic landscapes, and it is our responsibility to protect Virginia’s great outdoors for future generations.
        • Development Pressures. Development pressures to build more housing, energy generation sources, roads, and other infrastructure is threatening some of Virginia’s most important natural and historic resources and working lands. 
        • Unpredictable and insufficient funding. Unpredictable and insufficient funding for conservation projects has led to lost protection opportunities, scaled down projects, drawn out timelines (and therefore higher costs), and missed opportunities to leverage additional federal and private funding for conservation. 
        • Underinvestment in Public Lands. Virginia has underinvested in public lands, leading to a large maintenance backlog for state parks and other public lands and drawn out timelines to fully establish new public lands. The longer this problem goes unaddressed, the more costly it becomes.
        • Lack of Access. All Virginians should have access to the outdoors and its benefits regardless of race, physical abilities, or income. Yet, historic patterns of inequitable public access to green space persist in both urban and rural areas, particularly in areas that are traditionally communities of color. 
        • Underinvestment in Outdoor Recreation. Virginia is blessed with stunning landscapes and outdoor recreation opportunities, but unlike neighboring states the state has made little effort to invest in and develop the outdoor recreation sector. This is a significant missed economic development opportunity.
        What is Virginia's Great Outdoors Act?

        This proposed legislation (HB#641) would dedicate $230 million in annual funding to conservation needs statewide in order to:

        • Protect vulnerable natural lands and waters, working farms and forests, drinking water resources, and historic and cultural sites.
        • Improve public access to the outdoors by fixing and expanding infrastructure, programming, and public lands.
        • Invest in a thriving outdoor recreation economy by developing new parks, trails, river and shoreline access points, and more at the local and state level.

        The Virginia Great Outdoors Act expands upon successful existing programs by infusing them with funds to accelerate conservation work and enhance access to the outdoors. These programs include:

        VGOA would also increase investent in state parks, trail development, and the acquisition of land for new wildlife management areas, natural area preserves, and state forests.

          Why does Virginia need dedicated funding for conservation and increasing access to the outdoors?

          Virginia’s Constitution directs the Commonwealth “to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment and general welfare of the people”. There is increasing demand from communities across Virginia for open space, access to trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities.

          Protection of natural resources is chronically underfunded in the Commonwealth. Predictable, sustainable funding for conservation in the state budget enables better planning, quicker project completion, and increased opportunities to leverage additional funding from federal and other sources.

          Who supports this initiative?

          Statewide surveys consistently demonstrate broad, bipartisan support for conservation. A recent survey found that more than 90% of Virginians support the use of public funds to acquire land and prevent the loss of natural areas.

          How much state funding does conservation usually receive?

          Virginia’s investment in protecting its natural resources has been inconsistent and significantly lower than its peers, averaging just over one percent of its total budget toward natural resources. When compared to our surrounding states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, Virginia spends considerably less on natural resources.

          Many of Virginia’s most populous cities rank in the bottom half of 100 cities nationally for park investment, acreage and accessibility. 

          How can I help?

          The statewide Our Virginia Outdoors coalition welcomes new organizational members representing the full geographic, natural and economic diversity of Virginia. If you represent an organization that would like to discuss joining, please get in touch.

          Individuals: Please join our email list for timely advocacy opportunities (we promise not to spam you!), and encourage organizations you support to consider joining the coalition.

          If your Senator or Delegate serves on one of these key committees, please contact them to urge their support for Virginia’s Great Outdoors Act:

          Conservation Grant Programs

          Public Lands Investments

          A Competitive Outdoor Recreation Sector

          What happens if we don't invest more in conservation?
          • More important sites will be lost to development. Many natural and working lands and important historic sites are at risk from accelerating development, such as data centers, energy generation facilities, and expanding housing development. More of these lands can be preserved if there is adequate funding available.
          • When there is insufficient funding, projects take longer, become smaller, or fall through the cracks. This means missed opportunities for protecting valuable natural and historic resources, working lands that are undergoing ownership/intergenerational transition and are most at risk of being sold, and unique urban conservation opportunities to create more parks and open space. 
          • Land prices are increasing due to competition and inflation. This means in many parts of the state, particularly Northern Virginia and other metro areas, that the same level of funding is not protecting the same amount of land as before. This is hampering efforts to protect vulnerable lands in high development areas and establish access to open space in the areas of the state that face the highest demand.
          What could we achieve if we DO invest in conservation consistently?
          • The state and conservation organizations can protect more land, and undertake larger more impactful conservation projects. There are more landowners who would like to conserve their land than there is funding available to complete projects.  Only with significant funding is it possible to (re)connect the large landscapes that have the most potential to protect clean water, store carbon and provide habitat. 
          • Land trusts can unlock more federal and private dollars to fund conservation in Virginia. Recent landmark pieces of federal legislation like the Great American Outdoors Act and the EXPLORE Act have unlocked significant funds for conservation and outdoor recreation investments. This is in addition to programs funded through the Farm Bill and the regular appropriations process. These programs all require non-federal match, and the more match applicants provide, the more competitive their applications are. 

           

          Which programs are included?

          VLCF

          BIPOC Historic Preservation Fund

          VA Farmland and Forestland Preservation Fund

          Battlefield Fund

          Wildlife Corridors Fund

          What are public lands and where does Virginia have them?

          Public lands are any piece of land that’s owned by local, state or U.S. government agencies for the benefit of the people and for the stewardship of best-in-class landscapes for future generations. 

          • The four types of state public land are state parks, natural area preserves, wildlife management areas, and state forests. The majority of public land is accessible to the public for recreational use, with the exception of a few natural area preserves that protect rare ecosystems.
          • Of Virginia’s 3.15 M acres of public access land, 
            • 82% is federal land (largely due to Shenandoah National Park and George Washington and Jefferson National Forests); 
            • 13% is state land (DWR is the largest owner of state public lands for recreational use)
            • 4% is local (largely due to the NOVA Parks system)
            • 1% is other lands, like non-profit and privately owned preserves open to the public
          Why should the General Assembly invest in improving and expanding public lands in Virginia?
          1. Public lands provide outdoor recreation opportunities for all Virginians. Over 85% of land in Virginia is privately owned, which makes public lands key to ensuring that everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from, can access and enjoy the outdoors.
          2. Public lands anchor Virginia’s $13.4 billion outdoor recreation economy. Public lands provide hundreds of thousands of contiguous acres of natural landscapes for outdoor recreation activities. Privately held lands cannot provide nearly the same level of opportunity.
          3. Lack of equitable access to quality parks and green spaces poses a threat to mental and physical health outcomes in low-wealth urban communities and rural counties. Enhancing access may include establishing public lands where there are few or none, expanding public lands in and near high-demand areas, and establishing infrastructure and programming to address physical or language access barriers.
          4. Public lands ensure important natural resources are protected and stewarded for future generations. Public lands also enable conservation of critical landscapes, ecosystems, and animal migration. They support economies of scale for environmental monitoring, research, and restoration activities. 
          Why does Virginia need an Office of Outdoor Recreation?

          Growing Virginia’s outdoor recreation economy requires a whole-of-government approach. Despite accounting for 1.5% of Virginia’s GDP, responsibility for the outdoor recreation economy is fragmented across multiple agencies, limiting Virginia’s ability to grow, compete, and fully leverage this sector. A successful investment strategy will require support from agencies that focus on natural resources and economic development, tourism, and workforce development. Relevant Secretariats and agencies includes

          • Agriculture and Forestry (VDACS, DOF)
          • Natural and Historic Resources (DCR, DWR, VMRC, DHR)
          • Commerce (VEDP, VTA)
          What would the Office do?

          The Office will serve as a bridge between natural resource stewardship and the Commonwealth’s economic development, workforce, and tourism priorities, providing a centralized hub to align state, local, federal, nonprofit, and private-sector partners in growing and sustaining Virginia’s outdoor recreation economy.

          • Mission: Position Virginia’s outdoor assets as economic infrastructure by coordinating conservation, access, and investment to support business growth, talent attraction, and long-term regional competitiveness.
          • Purpose: To provide a centralized and dedicated home to coordinate efforts across local, state, federal, and community stakeholders engaged in building and sustaining Virginia’s outdoor recreation sector
          • Essential Functions:
            • Coordinate outdoor recreation policy, planning, and investment across agencies and levels of government.
            • Align outdoor initiatives with conservation, economic development, tourism, and workforce strategies.
            • Conduct research on economic impact, emerging trends, and best practices.

          Support equitable access and reduce barriers to participation while promoting stewardship and long-term sustainability of outdoor assets and protecting Virginia’s natural and historic resources.