
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Virginia’s working farms and forests, battlefields and other historic sites, natural areas, parks and rivers are critical to its economy, culture and quality of life. In 1999, the assembly and governor established the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (VLCF) to fund protection of these resources. The interactive map below depicts VLCF-grant projects funded since 2000.
| Name: | Darden Farms |
|---|---|
| Category: | Forestland Preservation |
| Grant Round: | FY26 |
| Acres: | 1052.68 |
| Locality: | Southampton County |
| Management Agency: | Virginia Outdoors Foundation |
| Owner: | Private |
| ConserveVirginia: | Agriculture & Forestry, Natural Habitat & Ecosystem Diversity, Floodplains & Flooding Resilience, Protected Landscapes Resilience |
| Amount Awarded: | $775,000.00 |
| Applicant: | Virginia Outdoors Foundation |
| Latitude: | -76.946318 |
| Longitude: | 36.613982 |
| Description: | The Virginia Outdoors Foundation received a VLCF grant to put an easement on the Darden Farm property. Darden Farm is a Century Farm containing 1,053 acres in Southampton County with approximately 630 acres of working forestland and 300 acres of farmland. Ninety percent of the property will remain in forestal use in perpetuity under an open-space easement to be held by Virginia Outdoors Foundation. The farmland and forestland on the eastern portion of the property are within areas designated by DCR's Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment as ecological cores ranked C3 (High). The property contains approximately 8,000 feet of perennial streams that will be protected with 50’ forested riparian buffers. |