NRCS to Fund Virginia Elk Project with $2.89 Million

NRCS has approved the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ application for a $2.89 million grant to expand the state’s designed Elk Management Zone.

RICHMOND — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $52 million in 19 projects to increase public access to private lands for wildlife-dependent recreation while benefiting farmers, ranchers and private landowners.

Through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is assisting state and tribal governments in encouraging private landowners to allow public access to their land for hunting, fishing and other wildlife-dependent recreation.

One of the grants announced was a $2.89 million award to Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources that will preserve and enlarge the state’s 4,000-acre designated Elk Management Zone in Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise counties. The grant will allow the state to expand the zone by 1,500 acres, which will include 520 acres of reclaimed mining land.

The state funds the program with an annual sale of a small number of elk hunting permits. This year, five permits will be available for purchase by winners of a late-October lottery and a sixth will be sold using a raffle. Under program rules, one of the five tags dispensed in the lottery must be awarded to a hunter with a residence in the Elk Management Zone.

Additional details on this year’s lottery and elk hunting in Virginia can be found on the DWR website.

The USDA press release announcing the VHA-HIP grants for 2026 is available here.

“As the Chief of NRCS, one of my top priorities is to expand wildlife conservation and outdoor access; the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program is a key part of our strategy to execute that priority,” said NRCS Chief Colton L. Buckley.

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