Virginia Coastal Program: 2001 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2001 Task 92
Grantee:
Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission
Project Title:
Special Area Management Plan for the Dragon Run
Project Description as Proposed:
The Dragon Watershed's
primary coastal management problem exists between preserving traditional
timbering, farming, hunting and trapping uses while maintaining
bio-diversity and managing public access. The Dragon SAMP seeks
to minimize the adverse impacts of approaching suburbanization on
the natural resources of the Dragon by improving the range of tools
available to Gloucester, Middlesex, King and Queen, and Essex Counties
to control new development and protect the traditional uses of the
waterbody. To address these concerns, the following areas of interest
will be addressed in the first year (15 months) of the project:
(1) Develop GIS Inventory and Digital and Textual Library for Development
of Management Plan: The SAMP staff will work on developing a watershed
management plan. This plan will be based on information contained
in the GIS inventory and in the digital and textual library that
the SAMP will create.
(2) Organization of Dragon SAMP Advisory Board: In order to guide,
monitor and plan strategy for the Dragon, an advisory board will
be organized.
(3) Technical Assistance to Local Government and Other User Groups:
SAMP staff will also provide technical assistance to local goverments
and other user groups, in order to work on issues related to zoning
within the watershed. In addition, staff will help to coordinate
and support projects proposed for within the watershed.
(4) Voluntary BMP Program: A Best Management Practices Program will
be developed to target landowners. BMP program issues might include
conservation easements, land trust agreements, agricultural buffers,
animal and plant habitat enhancements, water quality improvement
efforts, and enhanced forestry practice.
Federal Funding:
$105,000
Project Contact:
David Fuss, 804-758-2311mppdc@inna.net
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
The
Dragon Run SAMP is a partnership between the Virginia Coastal Program
and the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission's Dragon Run
Steering Committee. Its mission is to support and promote community-based
efforts to preserve the cultural, historic, and natural character
of the Dragon Run, while preserving property rights and the traditional
uses in the watershed (e.g. forestry, farming, hunting). The Dragon
Run is a fresh and brackish water stream that encompasses 90,000
acres of the Middle Peninsula counties of Essex, King and Queen,
Middlesex, and Gloucester.
The Dragon Run Steering Committee and its SAMP Advisory Group developed
a draft of the "Dragon Run Watershed Management Plan"
with input from a broad cross-section of the watershed community.
During this process, the watershed counties and the Middle Peninsula
Planning District Commission signed a Memorandum of Agreement accepting
the SAMP's goals and objectives and indicating their willingness
to consider the recommended actions in the watershed management
plan. Information about the watershed management plan and the process
and resources used in its development were disseminated through
brochures, fact sheets, community presentations, newspaper and magazine
articles, and a web site (www.mppdc.com/projects/dragonSAMP.htm).
Combined with external funding, this grant enabled the collection
of baseline information about fish, insects, freshwater mussels,
natural communities, rare species, and land use policies. As a result,
a preliminary "Aquatic Living Resources Inventory" was
produced for the Dragon Run watershed that supported the development
of the watershed management plan. Also, a land use policy audit
was produced with external funding.
Technical assistance was provided in the form of mapping, access
and natural resource information, review of proposals for watershed
projects, and presentations at workshops. In addition, significant
contributions were made to the development and presentation of a
multi-media showcase display for the Coastal Zone '03 conference
that featured the Dragon Run SAMP as one of three SAMPs in Virginia.
Ongoing funding support enabled this project to continue to strive
toward its mission and to achieve its goals and objectives.
Form C end
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
