Virginia Coastal Zone Management - Summer/Fall 2008
2008 Virginia CZM Program Project List
The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center receives funding from the Virginia CZM Program to support its marine mammal and sea turtle stranding program.
Marine mammal and sea turtle strandings in Virginia were again at high levels during 2007 - a total of 262 animals - one of the highest levels per mile of coastline for any state in the country. Sixteen strandings involved live animals. Of these, the Virginia Aquarium’s stranding program successfully rehabilitated and released five seals, one harbor porpoise and four sea turtles.
A view of seaside marshes off -shore in Oyster on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Virginia’s seaside is the site of a highly successful eelgrass restoration effort funded through the Virginia Seaside Heritage Program (VSHP).
The VSHP was the Virginia CZM Program's focal are from 2002 - 2008. For more details on the VSHP's many projects visit http://deq.virginia.gov/coastal/vshp/goals.html
2008 Virginia CZM Projects: Where Do Those Dollars Go?
By Laura McKay, Virginia CZM
Hard economic times are indeed upon us. Fortunately, the Virginia CZM Program operates on a one year lag of federal funding. So while Congress still hasn’t determined a final FY 2009 budget, the Virginia CZM Program has received its FY 2008 funding from NOAA for grants that began on Oct. 1, 2008, and will run through Sept. 30, 2009 (see tasks on table next page). So the program will have some time to plan if there are cuts in the federal FY 2009 and 2010 budgets.
Much of the program’s funding is used to help its network of agencies implement Virginia’s coastal laws and policies. This includes everything from Virginia CZM staff salaries to environmental impact review, environmental education, habitat locality liaisons, coastal permitting, submerged aquatic vegetation mapping, and coastal land acquisition.
Every year the program also gives technical assistance grants to the eight coastal Planning District Commissions and funds the Virginia Aquarium’s marine mammal and sea turtle stranding program. The program also funds implementation of Virginia’s coastal nonpoint source pollution program and the development of new enforceable policies.
This year marks the end of an old “Focal Area” and the beginning of a new one. For the past six years, the Virginia CZM Program has focused “discretionary” CZM funds on the Seaside Heritage Program. The expenditure of about $2.6 million has resulted in one of the most successful habitat restoration efforts in the country. On the seaside of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, the program’s partner agencies have been able to bring back hundreds of acres of eelgrass habitat and oyster reefs; map and remove hundreds of acres of Phragmites (an invasive reed); reduce predator impacts on beach nesting birds; reduce abandoned clam netting, start up a Shorekeeper program and create ecotourism infrastructure through creation of a Seaside Water Trail, four floating docks for paddlers and Ecotour guide certification courses.
But this year it’s time to move to a new focal area: Sustainable Community Planning. For the next three years, if congressional appropriations permit, these grants will go to state agencies and coastal PDCs to help coastal localities plan for adaptation to climate change or protect blue and green infrastructure. Blue or green infrastructure comprises those natural features on the land (e.g. forests, wildlife habitat, wetlands, etc.) or in the water (e.g. anadromous fish use areas, oyster reefs, underwater grass beds, etc.) that are critical to maintaining ecosystem and human health and survival.
There is always more the Virginia CZM Program partners wish they could do to protect and improve Virginia’s coastal resources. But we are very grateful for the public tax dollars we have received and pledge to spend them wisely.