Riparian Forests for Landowners

To improve water quality across the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Forestry seeks to increase the acreage of Riparian Forest Buffers through partnerships with service providers across the Commonwealth. The Riparian Forests for Landowners Program is meant to fill gaps in RFB establishment assistance not met by other programs. The Program provides turnkey coverage of costs of RFB establishment and one year of maintenance to a broad range of landowners and can be utilized on a variety of land types. Selected service providers will facilitate the installation of and one year of maintenance on Riparian Forest Buffers on waterways in the watershed for which they were selected. This will include completing outreach and recruitment of landowners for the program, preparing a project plan for the landowner, completing necessary site preparation as dictated by the site and its conditions to ensure success, installing the buffer, and completing one year of maintenance following planting. This work may be completed by the selected service provider subcontractor. Work shall be completed between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2026, unless the contract is renewed through April 30, 2026, with DOF approval.