Title

Generation NEXT helps keep Virginia forests intact.

Relevance

{"ops":[{"insert":"Forests are critical to Virginia’s economy and environment. The 16 million acres of forests have an annual economic impact of $21 billion and provide over 108,000 jobs. Virginia’s forests also provide billions of dollars a year in environmental benefits, such as clean air, water, wildlife habitat, and carbon uptake and storage. About 2/3 of the commonwealth’s forests are owned by private individuals and families. There are over 400,000 private landowners, and how they manage their forests has a direct impact on the wallets and wellness of all Virginians. Forest landowners 65 years and older own 41% of Virginia’s 10 million acres of privately-owned forestland. Most have not made plans for what will happen with their land when they die. Forestland is most vulnerable to land use change (being converted to some other land use) during intergenerational transfer. Without proper planning, high land values and taxes compel many heirs to sell the land to meet financial obligations. This is a major force behind the loss of nearly 300,000 forested acres since 1977, and the increasing parcelization and fragmentation of family woodlands. Virginia is in the midst of the largest intergenerational transfer of family forests and landowners want to know how to protect their land. Legacy planning provides landowners with a path to help them keep their land intact, in forest, and in family ownership. Legacy planning entails traditional estate planning along with engaging multiple generations in the decision-making, management, work, and play to build stronger ties with the land and within the family. A common barrier for landowners to legacy planning is accessing and using good planning tools and the confidence in knowing where to start. Likewise, natural resource professionals, both public and private, acknowledge this issue as relevant and critical but lack the tools and perspective to help move landowners toward legacy planning. Furthermore, landowners report challenges with finding suitable professional advisors and attorneys, who themselves identify the need for additional training on the unique aspects and options for landowners\n"}]}

Response

{"ops":[{"insert":"To generate awareness of this issue among landowners, attorneys, accountants, and natural resource professionals, in the early 2000s, landowner programs began including brief conversations about legacy planning. Numerous supporting materials have been developed including a comprehensive Legacy Planning Guide for Virginia Landowners. This together with 9 other print materials and 17 videos are published and continually available to both landowners and professionals. Focusing on Land Transfer to Generation “NEXT”, a 12-hour in-depth short course, was piloted in Charlottesville in 2009 and since then 13 in-person and in-depth programs have been delivered across Virginia. An additional half-day workshop format and a four-part, six-hour webinar have been added to the Generation “NEXT” offerings. \n\nLandowner programs utilize the expertise of private legal and financial professionals, conservation specialists, extension specialists, and Extension agents for content delivery. These events are tailored to reach unique demographics across Virginia and have engaged 476 family units (686 individuals). As an example of a tailored approach, a new workshop design was deployed in 2018, in partnership with Virginia State University and the Black Family Land Trust, to reach minority landowners in underserved areas of Virginia. In addition, many natural resource professionals, such as private consulting foresters, state foresters, and conservation specialists, have also been equipped to motivate their landowners to start the legacy planning process. Since 2016, hundreds of resource professionals have participated in at least a 1-hour legacy planning seminar. In 2016 and 2022, local VDOF foresters (134 total) participated in hands-on, in-depth training to increase their knowledge of legacy planning and how to leverage their standing as a trusted resource to instigate legacy planning. In cooperation with Virginia Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and volunteer instructors, the Program also provides estate planning attorneys with education about land, landowners, and legal tools to help families keep land intact and in the family. Nearly 140 attorneys completed a 3-hour course in 2016 and 85 participated in 2022. An exhaustive survey of potential rural land estate planning attorneys was done in 2022 to both develop a vetted list of legal advisors and reach this audience with additional training.\n"}]}

Results

{"ops":[{"insert":"Landowners who have participated in the Generation NEXT Program can better articulate their land transfer goals and have begun planning. Participants indicated the program would increase the likelihood of their property staying intact (83%), in the family (79%), and in woodland (79%). Post-workshop evaluations reveal that 98% of the participants feel more able to move forward with the estate planning process and follow-up surveys reveal that in the 6 months following the short course, 80% have begun it. As these landowners continue executing their plans, over 168,000 acres of land are expected to remain open and family-owned. An independent research project through the Institute for Integrative Conservation at William and Mary, in 2022, studied the effects of the Generation NEXT program on forestland preservation in Virginia. The survey data suggests that Generation NEXT participants have a lower rate of forestland divisions and a higher rate of Forest Legacy Plan completion than woodland owners who have not participated in a Generation NEXT program. VDOF foresters who participated in Generation NEXT training indicated a positive shift in their attitude towards this subject and the potential role they play in encouraging landowners to begin the legacy planning process. All participants (108) in the 2022 training demonstrated proficiency to instigate legacy planning conversations with landowners. Attorney training has increased awareness of the unique aspects of land and how land assets should be handled differently than other parts of an estate. Responses from the 2016 training were overwhelmingly positive with unsolicited feedback from Virginia CLE that the 2022 training was more engaging and generated more interest than most CLE offerings. The program has been recognized as one of the most successful land-transition programs in Virginia by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and fellow educators have adopted this model beyond Virginia as the program receives national attention. In 2022, the program was recognized as the Family Forest Education Individual Project National Award winner by the National Woodland Owners Association and the National Association of University Forest Resources Programs\n"}]}

Public Value Statement

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Primary Focus Area

Environmental Stewardship

Secondary Focus Area

Environmental Stewardship

Impact Statement