Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Increasing Use Of Natural And Nature-Based Features To Build Resilience To Storm-Driven Flooding, Final Report, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Pamela Mason, Jessica Hendricks, Julie Herman, Karen Duhring, Carl Hershner

Reports

In coastal Virginia today, local governments are dealing with recurrent flooding driven by coastal storms, exacerbated by rising sea level and increased frequency of intense rain events. At the same time, they are confronted with increasing demands on limited resources to address issues coastal flooding in concert with water quality, wetlands management, shoreline erosion, habitat, and community needs such as infrastructure, flood insurance and open space. One solution is to maximize the protection of existing and implement new natural and nature-based features (NNBFs) to capitalize on the provision of multiple benefits to address many of these coastal issues.

There are …

New Guidance To Build Resiliency And Mitigate For Sea Level Rise As Elements Of The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, Pamela Mason, Julie Herman, Christine Tombleson, Jessica Hendricks, Karen Duhring

Reports

The Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM), Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), worked in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) to develop guidance to inform the implementation of Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (CBPA) regulations promulgated in 2021. The 2021 regulations added provisions to require local governments to consider climate changes, specifically flooding, sea level rise and storms, and the preservation of mature trees in the administration of the CBPA program. Specifically, CCRM developed analytical data using criteria specified in the CBPA regulations, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration …

Vims Marsh Migration Final Report + Metadata Sheets, Molly Mitchell, Karinna Nunez, Christine Tombleson, Julie Herman

Reports

Coastal marsh loss is a significant issue globally, due in part to rising sea levels and high levels of coastal human activity. Marshes have natural mechanisms to allow them to adapt to rising sea levels, however, migration across the landscape is one of those mechanisms and is frequently in conflict with human use of the shoreline. Ensuring the persistence of marshes into the future requires an understanding of where marshes are likely to migrate under sea level rise and targeting those areas for conservation and preservation activities. The goal of this project was to 1) compile existing datasets and information …

Virginia Stormwater Act, Tiered Approach For Rural Tidewater Localities: Generation Of Watershed Impervious Maps, Christine Tombleson

Reports

An amendment to Virginia's Stormwater Management Act was adopted to implement a tiered approach to stormwater management for rural Tidewater localities. To participate a locality is required to have a map showing the boundaries of the locality, with each watershed located partially or wholly within the locality, and the percentage of impervious cover (cover that impedes the natural infiltration of water into the soil) within each watershed. Center staff created maps indicating the initial percent of existing impervious cover present in each watershed for the Middle Peninsula Planning District (MPPDC) localities; Gloucester, Essex, King and Queen, King William, Mathews, Middlesex …

Implementing Sustainable Shoreline Management In Virginia: Assessing The Need For An Enforceable Policy, Marcia Berman, Pamela Mason, Karinna Nunez, Christine Tombleson

Reports

No abstract provided.

Anthropocene Sea Level Change: A History Of Recent Trends Observed In The U.S. East, Gulf, And West Coast Regions, John D. Boon, Molly Mitchell, Jon Derek Loftis, David L. Malmquist

Reports

Relative sea level (RSL) observations since 1969 at U.S. tide stations exhibit trends in RSL rise rate and acceleration that vary in response to both global and regional processes. Trend histories display a high degree of similarity between locations in coastal regions that are experiencing similar processes. With the exception of the U.S. Northeast Coast and Alaska,every other coastal location in the continental U.S. has experienced an upturn in RSL rise rate since 2013-2014 despite wide differences in the magnitude and trending direction of RSL acceleration. High RSL acceleration along the U.S. Northeast Coast has trended downward since 2011 while …

Virginia Accomplishments Since The 2008 Climate Action Plan Release, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Virginia has undertaken a variety of actions to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gasses and adapt to climate related changes to our weather, wildlife, and sea level. However, these changes have not been undertaken in a coordinated fashion, nor have they been in clear response to the recommendations of any entity that has approached the problem of climate change as a whole. Greenhouse gas mitigation has taken place in the form of a few policies to capture landfill gas, encourage limited energy efficiency, encourage growth of some renewable energy, and reduce vehicle miles traveled. Additionally, good progress has been made …

Johns Point Landing Living Shoreline – Ecological Monitoring : Final Report To Gloucester County, Donna Marie Bilkovic, Molly Mitchell, Robert Isdell

Reports

VIMS monitoring activities consisted of three components:

• Monitoring of marsh vegetation establishment after planting

• Documenting ribbed mussel and oyster recruitment and growth in experimental bags of oyster shell at the living shoreline

• Monitoring infaunal communities prior to and after living shoreline implementation

Rehoboth Bay, Delaware Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Kory Angstadt, Tamia Rudnicky, Dan Schatt, David Stanhope

Reports

Shoreline Situation Reports (SSR) were first generated by VIMS in the 1970's to report the condition and status of the shore lands. The SSR series were published in hardcopy on a county by county basis for each of the Tidewater Virginia localities. The reports were intended to assist planners, managers, and regulators in decisions pertaining to management of coastal areas and natural resources therein. This is the first Shoreline Inventory Report for the Rehoboth Bay section of Delaware. Data collected describes conditions in the immediate riparian zone, the bank, and along the shore. There are three shapefiles that are part …

Recurrent Flooding Study For Tidewater Virginia, Molly Mitchell, Carl Hershner, Julie Herman, Daniel E. Schatt, Emily Eggington, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Comprehensive Coastal Resource Management Guidance : Planning Information And Guidance For The Living Shoreline Preference, Center For Coastal Resources Management

Reports

Guidance to promote Comprehensive Resource Management is being prepared pursuant to recent amendments to the Code of Virginia. Effective July 1, 2011, The “Living Shorelines Bill” SB 964 (2011) amended §28.2-1100 of the Code of Virginia and added §15.2-2223.2 and §28.2- 104.1 to the Code. Beginning in 2013, Section 15.2-2223.2 requires local governments to include a Comprehensive Coastal Resource Management Plan prepared by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in the next revision of their comprehensive plan. The guidance cultivates long-term sustainability for shoreline resources with consideration of current resource condition, priority planning, and forecasting of projected sea level rise …

Comprehensive Wetland Program Plan Commonwealth Of Virginia 2011 -2015, Virginia Department Of Environmental Quality, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Virginia’S Wetlands Management Programs, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Molly Mitchell, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Julie Bradshaw, Karen Duhring, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Estuarine Blue Infrastructure: Final Priority Conservation Areas For Chesapeake Bay And Its Tidal Tributaries And Back Bay – Version 2.0 (Revised 09/2010), Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

This project is an extension of earlier efforts within the coastal zone of Virginia to build a platform for enhanced Blue and Green Infrastructure planning. This project is motivated by an interest in extending statewide conservation efforts into estuarine systems and recognition that land use decisions on the upland effect water quality and habitat health in the receiving waters. The project in its entirety has been accomplished in distinct parts. Part one develops a Cumulative Resource Assessment to evaluate the distribution of aquatic natural resources within waters of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay waters, Back Bay of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the …

Sand Dunes And Beaches In Virginia: Science And Management, Pamela Mason

Reports

No abstract provided.

City Of Chesapeake, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Tamia Rudnicky, Daniel Schatt, Dave Weiss

Reports

This shoreline inventory is developed as a tool for assessing conditions along the tidal shoreline in the City of Chesapeake. Field data were collected between June and July 2002. Conditions are reported for three zones within the immediate riparian river area: riparian land use, bank and buffers, and the shoreline. A series of maps and tabular data are published to illustrate and quantify results of an extensive shoreline survey. Shorelines of the western, southern and eastern branches of the Elizabeth River including small tributaries were surveyed for this inventory. Small sections were coded using remote sensing techniques because the shoreline …

Gloucester County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Tamia Rudnicky, Daniel Schatt, Dave Weiss

Reports

This shoreline inventory is developed as a tool for assessing conditions along the tidal shoreline in the Gloucester County. Field data were collected between August and November 1998. Conditions are reported for three zones within the immediate riparian river area: riparian land use, bank and buffers, and the shoreline. A series of maps and tabular data are published to illustrate and quantify results of an extensive shoreline survey. Shorelines of the Poropotank, York, Severn, Ware, North and Piankatank rivers as well as creeks and small tributaries were surveyed for this inventory. Sections were coded using remote sensing techniques because the …

The Living Shoreline Suitability Model Worcester County, Maryland, Marcia Berman, Tamia Rudnicky

Reports

No abstract provided.

Erosion Vulnerability Assessment (Eva) And Planning Tool, Marcia Berman, Julie Herman, Karinna Nunez, Daniel Schatt

Reports

No abstract provided.

Tidal Wetlands Guidelines, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Nontidal Wetland Inventory And Monitoring Strategy For Virginia – Completion Of Phase Ii (Coastal Plain And Piedmont Physiographic Provinces), Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Tidal Flushing Characteristics In Virginia’S Tidal Embayments, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Julie Herman, Jian Shen, Jie Huang

Reports

This project evaluated water bodies in the Virginia coastal zone using several water quality models to calculate residence times. Results were grouped into tidal flushing categories (quickly, intermediately, and slowly flushed) that reflect a relative time frame in which a water body is flushed.

Shellfish Aquaculture Vulnerability Model, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

No abstract provided.

Coastal Maritime Forests In Virginia – Delineation And Distribution, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist

Reports

This project had two major goals. The first builds on an earlier effort by the Virginia Department of Forestry, who delineated maritime forests using remote sensing techniques. Their project integrated land use and soils data to generate a map that defines potential boundaries of maritime forest. This study follows an identical approach with two major exceptions. The first is the soils data used in this study is mapped at a much finer scale. The second is this study has a field validation component that reviewed random sites around selected locations to ground-truth the remote sensing output. The Virginia Department of …

Shallow Water Fish Communities And Coastal Development Stressors In The Lynnhaven River, Donna M. Bilkovic, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt

Reports

Coastal development pressures in the Mid-Atlantic have been attributed to significant negative impacts to aquatic ecosystems. The Lynnhaven River watershed, located in the southernmost extent of the Chesapeake Bay and encompassing Virginia Beach, is an example of a shallow-water tidal system under intense development pressure that is confronted with multiple and often conflicting coastal management issues. Rapid development in and around the City of Virginia Beach over the past few decades has led to the loss of natural buffers and habitat (e.g. oyster, wetlands and seagrasses), increased sedimentation, and degraded water quality. The Lynnhaven Ecosystem Restoration Project, led by U.S …

The Stability Of Living Shorelines - An Evaluation, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Julie Herman, Karinna Nunez

Reports

This project set out to strengthen arguments that living shorelines were a viable and preferred method of erosion control along much of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. Using statistical tests and data that describe shoreline and environmental condition along tidal shoreline, the study found that indeed marshes are frequently associated with stable shoreline and therefore recommending living shoreline treatments to manage erosion problems was a reasonable strategy that warranted strong consideration. Additional tests revealed a lower occurrence of marshes when traditional erosion control structures like bulkheads and revetments were present. This confirms these structures can permanently impact the growth of tidal …

Integrated Guidance For Tidal Shorelines, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Tidal shorelines are the site of complex interactions between terrestrial and aquatic systems. These areas have values that far outweigh their relative size in the larger ecosystem. They are exceptionally important habitat for a wide variety of organisms, some living primarily on land, others that live in water, and a few that are found only in the intertidal zone between land and water. Tidal shoreline systems provide important filtration capacity for materials carried in runoff and groundwater. They are uniquely valued by human users of coastal systems. In Virginia, tidal shoreline systems are managed in small segments, rather than as …

Intermediate Development Of A Forested Headwater Wetland Hgm Model For Wetlands Management In Virginia, Kirk J. Havens, David O'Brien, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt, Daniel Schatt, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Rappahannock County Riparian Buffer Study, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Riparian buffers (land bordering streams) are important zones for maintaining water quality and providing critical habitat. Rappahannock County has a rural landscape that presents the opportunity to record baseline conditions of riparian buffers. This study involved analyzing a small drainage area in the Upper Thornton River watershed to offer guidance on targeting riparian buffer restoration. Aerial imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VGIN, 2002) was used to create a digital data layer containing land uses and 100 ft. buffers around the streams. Buffer cover in the riparian buffers was identified as all forested, partially forested or no forest. A …

Ecosystem Approaches To Aquatic Health Assessment: Linking Subtidal Habitat Quality, Shoreline Condition And Estuarine Fish Communities, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carl Hershner, Kory Angstadt

Reports

In the Chesapeake Bay, there is currently no comprehensive assessment of aquatic habitat heterogeneity or understanding of the effects of multiple stressors on the viability of these habitats. To assess the use of side-scan sonar technology with specially designed classification software, QTC SIDEVIEW developed by Quester Tangent Corporation as a tool to define subtidal nearshore habitat, two representative watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay were surveyed. Relationships between subtidal habitat and shoreline condition as well as linkages of habitat condition to fish community indices were assessed. Side-scan technology had the ability to image habitat at a resolution of less than 1 …