Stafford County Shoreline Management Plan

With approximately 85 percent of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline privately owned, a critical need exists to increase awareness of erosion potential and the choices available for shore stabilization that maintains ecosystem services at the land-water interface. The National Academy of Science published a report that spotlights the need to develop a shoreline management framework (NRC, 2007). It suggests that improving awareness of the choices available for erosion control, considering cumulative consequences of erosion mitigation approaches, and improving shoreline management planning are key elements to minimizing adverse environmental impacts associated with mitigating shore erosion. Actions taken by waterfront property owners to stabilize the shoreline can affect the health of the Bay as well as adjacent properties for decades. With these long-term implications, managers at the local level should have a more proactive role in how shorelines are managed. The County recognizes that development has led to increased runoff and non-point source pollution and identifies the need to guide efforts to maintain water quality, preserve wildlife habitats, and minimize the risk of natural hazards (Stafford County Planning Commission, 2010). The shores of Stafford range from exposed open-river to very sheltered creeks, and the nature of shoreline change varies accordingly (Figure 1-1). This shoreline management plan is useful for evaluating and planning shoreline management strategies appropriate for all the creeks and rivers of Stafford. It ties the physical and hydrodynamic elements of tidal shorelines to the various shoreline protection strategie

Henrico County, Virginia - Shoreline Inventory Report: Methods and Guidelines

The 2017 Inventory for Hanover County was generated using on-screen, digitizing techniques in ArcGIS® -ArcMap v10.4.1while viewing conditions observed in Bing high resolution oblique imagery, Google Earth, and 2013 imagery from the Virginia Base Mapping Program (VBMP).Four GIS shapefiles are developed.The first describes land use and bank conditions (Hanover _lubc_2017). The second portrays the presence of beaches (Hanover _beaches_2017). The third reports shoreline structures that are described as arcs or lines(e.g. riprap)(Hanover _sstru_2017). The final shapefile includes all structures that are represented as points(e.g. piers)(Hanover _astru_2017).The metadata file accompanies the shapefiles and defines attribute accuracy, data development, and any use restrictions that pertain to data

Summary Tables: 2017 Henrico County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes)

Vulnerability of shallow tidal water habitats in Virginia to climate change

The principal objective of this study was to develop a characterization of current shallow-water habitat components in Virginia tidal waters and predict climate driven changes to these habitats. To project broad-scale climate change effects on the abundance and distribution of coastal habitats, an inundation model based on anticipated relative sea-level rise, temperature and salinity projections, and coastal development were integrated into a GIS modeling framework. Using this framework, simple models were constructed that forecast the distribution of key coastal habitat parameters within the next 50 to 100 years including: shallow-water areas, tidal wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation and estuarine beaches. The purpose is to inform management and planning efforts by identifying areas at significant risk for changes to habitat components, and areas with significant potential to support critical habitat components in the future. This will enable managers to make proactive decisions that can mitigate impacts and preserve opportunities for sustained habitat services as the estuarine system evolves. From a practical perspective, understanding potential futures can inform targeting of limited management resources to areas at greatest risk and/or areas with the greatest probability for successful outcomes