Virginia Coastal Zone Management - Summer/Fall 2008

Conserving Coastal Areas: Virginia Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program

By Kelly Price, former Virginia CZM Coastal Planner

The Virginia CZM Program has a long history of protecting Virginia’s special coastal places. Each year, since 1991, this protection has included setting aside a portion of our Coastal Zone Management Act funds for land acquisition.

To date, more than $4.6 million in CZM and matching funds have been used to protect more than 2,300 acres in Virginia’s coastal zone. Most of the lands acquired have been within “Special Area Management Plan” (SAMP) boundaries. SAMPs are special geographic areas selected by the Virginia CZM Program for multi-year funding based primarily on their ecological importance. These include Northampton County, one of the most critical stopover areas for migratory songbirds; the southern watersheds of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, whose unique wind-driven marshes provide habitat for many of the state’s rare species; and the Dragon Run watershed, one of the most pristine sub-watersheds draining to the Chesapeake Bay.

More recently, the Virginia CZM Program has been using geographic information systems (GIS) to map the locations of our coastal resources and identify areas of high ecological value in the coastal zone. These GIS data layers, created from years of research conducted by our CZM partners, have allowed us to develop a comprehensive assessment of coastal land conservation needs and map ecologically important areas of high priority for protection. The assessment and priority maps are compiled into the Virginia Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) Plan.

The Virginia CZM Program has participated in the national Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, which is administered by NOAA’s Office of Coastal Resource Management since 2002. CELCP and matching funds have been used to purchase nearly 1,000 acres in Virginia’s coastal zone for the purpose of protecting important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from their natural or recreational state to other uses, giving priority to lands which can be effectively managed and protected and that have significant ecological value.

Prior to 2007, all CELCP funding received in Virginia was awarded through congressional earmarks. New rules require all coastal states to compete for this land acquisition funding and develop a state level CELCP plan to remain eligible for funding. As the state’s lead on CELCP, the Virginia CZM Program coordinated development of the Virginia’s CELCP Plan.

The draft Virginia CELCP Plan was released for public comment and submitted to NOAA in April 2008. It is a guide for state agencies, planning district commissions, localities and non-profit conservation organizations to use in identifying coastal land conservation priorities and to coordinate on common strategic open space and land conservation goals. The plan provides:

A map of priority coastal areas whose conservation will protect the best remaining coastal resources under the greatest threats of conversion

Information on existing state and regional acquisition plans consistent with the goals of the CELCP and the Virginia CZM Program.

Eligibility requirements and a description of Virginia’s evaluation process and scoring criteria to be used by the Virginia CZM Program in ranking CELCP land conservation proposals.

The Virginia CZM Program created the Virginia CELCP Priority Areas map through a synthesis of the state’s best available ecological assessments, including the Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment and Conservation Site data from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage; the Wildlife Action Plan species of greatest conservation need data from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; and Important Bird Areas data, created by William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology for the Virginia Audubon Society. The Virginia CZM Program funded a large portion of the Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment work and all of the Important Bird Area work in the coastal zone. The resulting “priority areas,” representing about 45 percent of the land area within Virginia’s coastal zone, are distributed among five categories of ecological significance in an effort to prioritize our pursuits so that we may acquire the most valuable lands first.

The Virginia CELCP Priority Areas map shows that Virginia’s land conservation efforts have, in fact, been well placed. About 63 percent of lands within the ‘outstanding’ ecological value category have already been protected in perpetuity, compared to 3 percent in the ‘general’ category. The map also identifies as ‘outstanding’ or ‘very high’ ecological significance the areas in which the Virginia CZM Program has focused its SAMP efforts. These areas remain key targets for conservation.

The Priority Areas map also shows that our conservation needs are still great. In August 2008, the Department of Conservation and Recreation released a report showing progress made toward Governor Timothy M. Kaine’s 400,000 acre land conservation goal. Although more than 250,000 acres have been protected, only 20 percent of that acreage is within Virginia’s coastal zone. Based on the Priority Areas map, we have estimated that there are nearly 400,000 acres of ‘outstanding’ and ‘very high’ ecological value within the coastal zone alone in need of permanent protection for the public benefit.

The map brings to the forefront geographic areas with exceptional ecological value that need the Virginia’s attention. The Chickahominy Watershed as well as floodplain areas of the Potomac (south of Alexandria), Rappahannock, Pamunkey, and Mattaponi Rivers all fall in line with Virginia’s strategy to protect ecologically valuable lands and would boost the acreage within the coastal zone that helps meet the Governor’s goal. All of these areas should be targeted for future land conservation projects due to their significant ecological importance.

The Virginia CELCP Plan prioritizes the purchase of lands that are ecologically valuable and provide public access to the coast. Most of Virginia’s recent land protection activity has been in conservation easements on private lands rather than fee simple acquisition for conservation purposes. The Department of Conservation and Recreation reports that 73 percent of the acreage protected in the coastal zone that meets the Governor’s goal has been protected through conservation easements – mainly private donations eligible for personal tax credits. Private lands protected by conservation easements rarely include public access. Provision and preservation of public access is a key goal of the Virginia CZM Program.

The 2006 Virginia Outdoors Survey showed that citizens support the use of public funds for outdoor recreation and land conservation. 94 percent of citizens believe it is either “very important” or “important” to protect Virginia’s natural and open space resources. Most prefer public funds be used to purchase lands that will provide public access. The two highest outdoor recreation needs indicated in the survey were additional public access to Virginia’s waters and trails for walking and bicycling. Most of the lands acquired with Virginia CZM and CELCP funds do provide opportunities for public access. Future acquisition of public lands for state parks, natural area preserves, state forests, and wildlife management areas will be critical if we are to provide adequate access for Virginia’s growing population.

The Virginia CELCP Plan also prioritizes lands that will preserve water quality as it drains through our coastal watersheds. Long term survival of aquatic species is dependent on good water quality. Poor water quality in the Chesapeake Bay has led to a decline in the once abundant sea grass beds and oyster and blue crab populations. In the face of continued population growth, protecting the integrity of lands adjacent to high quality waters and important aquatic resources may help to sustain our seafood industries. In the future, the CELCP Priority Areas map will incorporate more data on this `blue-green infrastructure’ connection. In the interim, our Internet mapping system – Coastal GEMS – can help assess the benefits that protection of key adjacent lands will have on water quality and `blue infrastructure.’

Lastly, Virginia’s CELCP Plan prioritizes the protection of large undeveloped forested uplands adjacent to shoreline and low-lying lands. Unlike wetlands, these uplands are not protected or managed through state or federal laws and as such are threatened by unsustainable development. Climate change makes protection of upland areas even more critical. Without gently sloping upland area, coastal wetlands cannot migrate inland as coastal areas are inundated. As localities prepare for increasing storms, flooding, and inundation from rising seas, one of the most effective tools they have to protect resources and property is to acquire and protect coastal lands that can serve as buffers against these threats.

Virginia CZM submitted three applications to NOAA for FY 2009 CELCP funding. Of the 46 proposals received and evaluated by NOAA, all three of Virginia’s proposals ranked in the top half. The number one ranked proposal in the country was $3 million for Crow’s Nest in Stafford County. Congress has not yet appropriated FY 2009 funds, so please be sure to let your Congressional representatives know you support Virginia’s CELCP and CZM land acquisition efforts!