Comprehensive Coastal Resource Management Guidance : Planning Information and Guidance for the Living Shoreline Preference

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 impacts into the future. Under this guidance, the use of living shorelines as a preferred approach for stabilization of tidal shoreline is encouraged. The “guidance” communicates to stakeholders (including local governments) the policy of the Commonwealth with respect to living shorelines, identifies preferred solutions for erosion control, and defines the risks and benefits of shoreline management strategies in an integrated comprehensive manner

Enhancement of Wetlands Management in Virginia: Cumulative Impact Assessment Final Report

New protocols and procedures are needed to effectively implement many aspects of the new Virginia nontidal wetlands regulatory program. Effective implementation of the charge to assess and consider cumulative impacts of a proposed project on water quality and fish and wildlife resources will require a consistent and technically based assessment protocol implemented on a watershed basis. This project is the first step in development of the protocol for cumulative impact assessment. The first step in the process was to review extant literature on cumulative impact assessment in wetlands and to review methods developed for this purpose. These reviews are an ongoing process, and will continue even after Virginia adopts a particular approach. The goal is to ensure the Commonwealth is using an approach that meets programmatic requirements for data collection and analysis, addresses the practical resource limitations of the regulatory program, and remains informed by the evolving field of wetlands assessment. The primary product of this project, as the first phase in development of the cumulative assessment protocol, is recommendation of a draft protocols for description of the baseline wetland conditions. These recommendations will be under constant revision throughout a testing and evaluation phase, scheduled to last at least two years

Test and Implement Commercial Grade Biodegradable Hinges on Dungeness Crab Traps (VA, WA, AK)

Employ commercial-grade biodegradable hinges on Dungeness crab traps to minimize adverse impacts when the traps become derelict. Project will test the durability of the hinges in both the active fishery utilizing watermen and in a simulated derelict trap mode to ensure the function as needed to be functional for fishermen and protect marine ecosystems