Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
DCR celebrates ongoing progress and improvements in 2025. Through expansion of and increased access to public lands, preservation of history, improvements to conservation planning and more, DCR continues to carry out its mission to Conserve, Protect and Enjoy. Here are some highlights from the past year.
Agricultural Cost-Share Program: Now in its fourth year of record funding, the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program has grown to be the largest state-funded agricultural conservation program in the nation. In fiscal year 2025, the VACS program awarded contracts to implement more than 48,000 BMPs with 2,497 agricultural producers, 585 of whom were first-time participants. Collectively, these contracts obligate more than $125.6 million in state cost-share funding.
New and expanded public lands: The agency completed acquisitions that will establish two new natural area preserves: Eastern Divide in Montgomery County and Brocks Gap in Rockingham County. DCR also acquired lakefront property to expand Caledon State Park.
Record funding of land conservation grants: In its 26th year, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation awarded $15.5 million in grant awards. Highlights include: 969 acres of ancestral homelands acquired by the Rappahannock Tribe to conserve as a natural area and for educational purposes; two tracts with two separate VLCF grants acquired by Capital Region Land Conservancy (CRLC) to expand the James River Park System, including Mayo’s Island, increasing public access to historic and recreational lands; and 471 acres of lakefront property in King George County acquired by DCR to expand Caledon State Park.
Outstanding farms: Ten farms have been honored as Grand Basin winners of the 2025 Virginia Clean Water Farm Awards. The annual awards, sponsored by DCR in partnership with Virginia’s 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts, recognize farmers who implement conservation practices and do their part to preserve water quality.
Improving dam safety: DCR has continued to drive down the number of dams with unknown hazard classification and condition.
Flood resilience planning: By incorporating rainfall-driven flooding, 5,700 additional square miles across Virginia are publicly mapped as areas vulnerable to flooding through the Fathom flood hazard data. More than 400 engagements from 100 organizations supported the development of the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan.
Flood resilience assistance: Community Flood Preparedness Round 5 awarded $67 million in grants and loans. Round 6 is open for applications, with $110 million in grants and loans available. The Resilient Virginia Revolving Loan Fund round for Southwest Virginia is open, with $10 million available.
Special biological areas: A Good Neighbor Agreement was entered into with the U.S. Forest Service. This funding, valued at about $5 million over 10 years, will allow DCR’s Division of Natural Heritage to assist USFS with biological inventories, including assisting with NEPA requirements, updating old records, and assessments of special biological areas.
Conservation planning in the coastal zone: As part of a NOAA-funded project administered by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), DCR’s Natural Heritage developed a new GIS layer to support conservation planning in Virginia’s coastal zone. The layer identifies unconserved lands adjacent to permanently protected areas that contribute to the resilience of conserved lands, both physically and biologically. The final version will guide Natural Heritage Resource inventory efforts in the next phase of the project.
Native Seed Pilot Project: A Coastal Zone Management grant was awarded to DCR’s Natural Heritage in June for Phase 2 of the Native Seed Pilot Project. The grant funding will support technical assistance provided by the Clifton Institute to farmers growing native species in the coastal zone, along with the hiring of a new native seed coordinator.
Opening the 44th state park: Hayfields State Park officially opened on October 20, expanding the Virginia State Parks system to 44 parks. The 1,034-acre property in Highland County was once working farmland, and its preservation ensures that this natural landscape will remain open and accessible for generations to come. The opening was well-received across our social media channels, reaching a combined organic audience of nearly 193,000.
Increasing public access: Part one of the Phase 2 acquisition at Culpeper Battlefields State Park was completed. Natural Bridge State Park acquired Natural Bridge Caverns. High Bridge Station, High Bridge Trail State Park’s first visitor center, was dedicated and opened. Caledon State Park’s addition of the Lake Caledon property was the first successful VLCF grant awarded to Virginia State Parks. The mostly forested property, immediately south of the park, increases recreational opportunities such as camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing and kayaking at the park. A lease was executed for a new canoe/kayak launch site for Clinch River State Park in Scott County. Additionally, trail building is ongoing across multiple preserves, enhancing public access facilities at Crow’s Nest in Stafford County and creating the first public access facilities at both Bald Knob in Franklin County and The Cedars in Lee County. Reconstruction of a boardwalk trail will soon be underway at North Landing River in Virginia Beach City.
Preserving history and updating amenities: Renovations of the CCC-era Douthat Lodge at Douthat State Park were completed, and construction began on more than 30 cabins at Westmoreland and First Landing state parks. State park master plans: The 10-year master plan for Lake Anna State Park was completed and approved, and Machicomoco State Park’s master plan will soon be reviewed by the Board of Conservation and Recreation. These plans involve a process of gathering input from stakeholders and the community to shape a comprehensive vision that balances conservation, recreation and education.
Efforts in Environmental Education: An interactive resource, iseeVA, was launched for Environmental Education. Additionally, three professional development experiences for K-12 educators were hosted. With 17,000 organic impressions across all social media channels, the open application video for the upcoming development experience—which has already received a record number of applicants in its first few weeks—can be viewed here: EnviroLearn Soil Science Applications Are Open! #VaEducators - YouTube
Virginia Public Relations Award: DCR’s Public Communications and Marketing Office won a Virginia Public Relations Award for its nationwide efforts promoting the launch of EnChroma at Virginia State Parks. These viewfinders are designed to help those with red-green Color Vision Deficiency experience an expanded range of visible colors.
Capturing stories and snapshots: Eight videos were produced, highlighting conservation success stories from farms around the state, as well as six videos focusing on the scientific aspects of best management practices. Several videos for five Virginia State Parks were produced, and DCR’s photo assets were updated with professional photo shoots.
Emi Endo, Matt Sabas, Starr Anderson and Kim Wells contributed to this post.
Categories
Conservation
Tags
dams | flood resilience | natural area preserves | pollinator | state parks
