In Virginia, Healthy Shorelines and Coastal Economies Rely on State Program

Projects along ocean, estuaries, rivers, and Chesapeake Bay benefit communities and nature

Article By: Joseph Gordon & Zack Greenberg
Projects: Conserving Marine Life in the United States
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In Virginia, Healthy Shorelines and Coastal Economies Rely on State Program

Although Virginia has only 132 miles of ocean coastline, the figure jumps to 7,345 miles when the commonwealth’s tidal shoreline—along its inlets, estuaries, and share of the Chesapeake Bay—also is counted. This gives Virginia one of the longest coasts of any state.

Shorelines shape and support the communities they border. Recreation, tourism, commercial and recreational fishing, and other coastal-dependent businesses are critical to these areas’ economies. In addition, healthy coastal habitats mitigate damage to communities from storms, flooding, and sea level rise, and improve water quality.

In Virginia, the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program involves a consortium of organizations that work to conserve the commonwealth’s coastal resources and foster sustainable development. Below are some of the many ways the commonwealth’s CZM program and its partner organizations sustain and support Virginia’s coastal areas.

Birdwatchers scan trees on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Nature tourism generated $51 million in spending and supported 655 jobs in the area in 2016, the last year for which figures are available.
Jessica Ruthenburg/Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Nancy Van Alstine, a botanist with the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, surveys the shoreline of the Chickahominy River for rare plants. This survey was part of a broader effort by the Virginia CZM program and its partners to evaluate the health of the watershed.
Gary Fleming/Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Economic activity associated with aquaculture on Virginia’s Eastern Shore was valued at more than $156 million in 2016, the last year for which figures are available. Aquaculture relies on good water quality, which the Virginia CZM program supports through land conservation.
Virginia Witmer/Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program
A dock overlooking Gargathy Creek in Parksley, Virginia, offers views of salt marsh and opportunities to see inshore marine life, such as blue crabs. Maintaining public access to the coast is an important component of the Virginia CZM program.
David Garst/Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
The Virginia CZM program supports water trails such as this one on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and other ecotourism assets that boost the commonwealth’s coastal economy.
Dave Burden/Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
This launch and fishing pier provides canoe and kayak access to the Lafayette River in Norfolk. Virginia’s CZM program funded construction of the pier and restoration of the shoreline.
Ben McFarlane/Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
A rock sill and planted marsh at Captain Sinclair’s Recreational Area in Gloucester not only protects the shoreline, but also has allowed underwater vegetation to grow, which has encouraged the return of oysters and prompted fish to use the rock crevices and marsh as habitat.
Donna Milligan/Shoreline Studies Program, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Karen Patterson, an ecologist with the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, surveys a dense tidal freshwater marsh along the Lower Chickahominy River. Marshes such as these filter pollutants and provide wildlife habitat.
Gary Fleming/Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Men work on a fishing boat at a dock in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. The state’s CZM program helps preserve and redevelop coastal areas such as this one, in part through the Virginia Working Waterfront Master Plan, which was completed in 2015 with federal funding and in partnership with state and local stakeholders.
Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission

Joseph Gordon directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ campaigns to protect marine life on the U.S. East Coast. Zack Greenberg coordinates Pew’s outreach and policy efforts in this region.