Virginian’s identities and quality of life are rooted in our land. We take pride in our stunning and iconic landscapes: the rugged Appalachian Mountains, fertile Piedmont, tidal rivers flowing across the coastal plain to the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia’s natural resources support local economies; form the foundation of our culture and diverse communities; and sustain the health of our people, our wildlife, and our water. But the demands facing Virginia’s landscapes are growing and Virginia needs to increase the scale and speed of its conservation efforts. Virginia needs to establish a dedicated funding source to meet these challenges.

Virginia faces dual threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. From stormwater and nutrient runoff (see Tackling Polluted Stormwater & Restoring Local Water Quality. pg 5, to air pollution (see Improving Environmental Enforcement & Transparency, pg 129), habitat loss and fragmentation (see Ensuring Resilient Ecosystems Through Wildlife Corridor Protection, pg 19), and increased development pressure (see Conserving Virginia’s Landscapes for the Future, pg 31), as well as our looming 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup targets, Virginia’s environment faces many challenges that Our Common Agenda addresses. And while the challenges and solutions are often starkly different, one common thread among them all is the need for more government funding to implement our solutions.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare both the necessity and desire of Virginians to get outdoors for recreation and mental health, with Virginia State Parks seeing over a 14% increase in visitation across the Commonwealth during a single month during the pandemic,¹ but also the inequities in access to the outdoors (see Ensuring Virginians Have Daily Access to the Outdoors, pg 51) and the disproportionate health burdens carried by marginalized and underserved communities (Improving Environmental Enforcement & Transparency). Again, there are policy proposals through Our Common Agenda regarding these issues, but we cannot address these issues without adequate state funding.

Virginia State Parks saw over a 14% increase in visitation across the Commonwealth during a single month during the pandemic.

Virginia can take pride in its many past conservation achievements. However, if we are to meet the growing challenges facing the Commonwealth and address historic inequities, Virginia must establish a consistent, robust source of dedicated funding for conservation.

A dedicated revenue stream can enhance our existing conservation programs, increasing the scale and rapidity of projects to meet the growing demands placed on Virginia’s environment. It will also allow for establishing new programs designed to specifically address conservation issues and marginalized communities that current programs are ill-equipped to address.

This dedicated funding must be used to supplement increased general fund appropriations for conservation initiatives. Overall funding must be increased to meet the challenges facing the Commonwealth. This increased funding will allow Virginia to fully capture available federal funding opportunities, such as the stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund, ² Forest Legacy Program, ³ Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, ⁴ and Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, ⁵ maximizing the outcomes Virginians receive for every dollar invested.

1 Albiges, Marie, and Marie Albiges. Attendance at Virginia State Parks Is up during Coronavirus. How Are Safety Measures Being Enforced? Virginian Pilot (July 31, 2020). https://www.pilotonline.com/news/health/vp-nw-coronavirus-attendance-up-state-parks-20200801-uvceleueffhtjewotjbrekmwbi-story.html.

2 Forest Legacy. U.S. Forest Service (2020). https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/private-land/forest-legacy.

3 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program | Virginia. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (2020). https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/va/programs/easements/acep/?cid=stelprdb1248504.

4 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration. U.S. Department of Defense (2020). https://www.repi.mil.

5 Land and Water Conservation Fund. National Park Service (2020). https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/stateside.htm.

6 Sheldon, Zachary. Exploring Dedicated Funding for Conservation. Our Common Agenda (2020). http://vcnva.org/exploring-dedicated-funding-forconservation.