Virginia Coastal Zone Management - Spring/Summer 2007
A Change from Work to Pleasure...
Working waterfronts once dominated the coastline. However as coastal population and disposable income have increased, recreation has become a primary coastal activity, as the pleasure craft moored next to the workboats in this photo illustrate. Demand for waterfront access has resulted in competition for the once seemingly endless waterfront, resulting in conflicts in a growing number of coastal communities. (See "MPPDC Addresses Waterfront Use Conflicts" article in this issue)
Changes for Our Native Species...
Today, it’s hard to imagine that Captain John Smith found oysters so plentiful that during one of his journies around the Bay he and his men lived on them for ten weeks, and that birds were so plentiful that they flew above in the thousands.
A pair of eaglets, representing a fraction of 17th Century populations, wait for a meal on a nest along the Rappahannock River. Although Bald eagles have made a resurgence in the United States because of a ban on DDT and protection provided by the Endangered Species Act, biologists are concerned that prime eagle habitat is rapidly being taken over by development.
Changes to Our Shorelines...
A NOAA chart from 1868 and air photos from 1937 and 2002 (courtesy of VIMS) illustrate shoreline changes in the Travis Point / Hog Island area of Northumberland County. As a result of rising sea level and related shoreline erosion, Hog Island is greatly diminished between 1868 and 1937, and completely submerged by 2002. With the exception of the small village and steamboat landing of Lewisetta, the vast majority of the shoreline in the 1937 photo is undeveloped. By 2002, however, much of this same shoreline is built out with retirement or vacation homes. The Virginia CZM Coastal Partners Workshop will focus on the issues of climate change and population growth.
400 Years of Change
By Shep Moon, Coastal Planner
The year 2007 is being celebrated across Virginia’s coastal zone as the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. As part of this celebration, the voyages of John Smith and his crew of 14 men in a 30-foot shallop along the tidal waters of Virginia and Maryland have been recreated based on his account of what he saw on these voyages. Cruising along these same waters today, it’s hard to comprehend exactly what Captain Smith must have seen, let alone the incredible changes that have occurred in the last four hundred years.
Exploring the Bay by Boat in 1608
Smith’s first voyage began at Jamestown on June 2, 1608. Over the next three months and 1,700 miles he explored the bayside of the Eastern Shore, the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, and the entire length of the Chesapeake Bay. Although his goal was to find a shortcut to the Far East or to find precious metals to send back to England, what John Smith achieved on these early voyages on what he called his “discovery barge” ultimately proved to be much more important.
John Smith returned to England in 1609 and in 1612 he published an account of his exploration as well as a surprisingly accurate map of Virginia which guided further exploration and settlement for the remainder of the 17th century. Smith’s accounts of the abundance of fish and wildlife, along with his description of the coastal landscape, led him to proclaim that “Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation.” His glowing description of Virginia, along with his map, undoubtedly influenced others to make the journey to the New World and began a flood of European immigration that would not only lay the foundation for our maritime heritage, but radically affect our coastal resources.
“Re-Settling” a Settled Land
English colonists were not, of course, the first people to recognize the benefits of coastal living in Virginia. When John Smith made his voyages of discovery, he encountered a well developed culture of about 13,000 Algonquian-speaking people who had settled along coastal waters thousands of years ago. They called the Bay “Chesepioc,” which means “great shellfish bay” because for them it provided not only a means of transportation, but a key source of food. The Algonquians had already encountered Spanish, French, English and Portuguese explorers throughout the 16th century. Spanish Jesuits had attempted to settle near the York River in 1570, but the settlement was wiped out by Algonquians in 1572. England’s initial attempt at colonization also failed when they tried to start a colony on Roanoke Island, North Carolina with the intention of eventually relocating to the Chesapeake Bay.
The Jamestown settlement also had a very difficult beginning and came very close to total failure several times. By 1625, only 1,100 of the 7,500 colonist that had settled in Virginia had survived. The rest perished due to famine, disease and battles with the Algonquians. But by the slimmest of margins, the colony eventually succeeded and was the primary English settlement in North America for many years.
By the year 1700, the Virginia colony had grown to about 70,000 people. Today, Virginia’s coastal zone, just about 22% of Virginia’s total land area, is home to an estimated 4.9 million people, or 64% of the Commonwealth’s population.
After the arrival of the colonists, the coastal economy changed from the subsistence practices of the Algonquian people to a trade-based economy relying primarily on the cash crop of tobacco. Tobacco farming was a very lucrative but labor intensive form of agriculture. Early planters soon found that immigration from Europe and natural population increases couldn’t supply an adequate labor force and in 1619 a Dutch ship brought the first Africans to Virginia. By 1700, large numbers of African slaves were arriving to support the expanding plantation economy.
The economy slowly diversified, however, and by 1860 Virginia was the leading manufacturing state in the South. Shipbuilding and repair became economic mainstays and the age of steamships brought increased opportunities for trade throughout coastal Virginia and the growth of numerous small steamship ports. The presence of numerous military installations has also had a strong influence on the coastal economy, with Norfolk now hosting the world’s largest naval base and Portsmouth the world’s largest ship-repair yard.
Harvesting coastal resources such as fish, oysters and crabs is, of course, the economic activity most associated with coastal Virginia. Whether from large trawlers from the Reedville fishing fleet or by independent watermen in traditional Deadrise workboats, fishing has been, and remains, an important part of the coastal economy. As leisure time and disposable income have gradually increased, coastal waters have also increasingly lured tourists and people looking for recreation on the water.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, resort areas such as Virginia Beach, Buckroe Beach, Ocean View and Colonial Beach became popular destinations. After World War II, weekend cottages and summer homes became more common along coastal waters. In many coastal areas today, waterfront development for retirement and leisure, along with the support services for these new residences, is the principle source of economic growth.
Change is the Constant
Changes in the coastal population, economy and land use patterns over 400 years have also meant significant changes for our coastal resources. Conversion of riparian forests and wetlands to farm fields, homes and businesses has affected water quality and coastal habitats. Shoreline hardening for erosion control has destroyed miles of important fringe wetlands and beaches, and has created barriers between riparian and nearshore environments.
Some once common species, such as the Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Eastern Cougar, Eastern Elk and Timber Wolf have become extinct or are no longer found in Virginia. Other key species can still be found, but in significantly reduced numbers. Underwater grasses, for example, which provide important habitat, oxygenate the water, and help prevent erosion, have decreased from an estimated 200,000 acres in the Chesapeake Bay to only 59,090 in 2006 because of poor water quality. Oyster reefs, which once were so common that they posed navigation hazards and could filter the entire volume of the Chesapeake Bay in only a few days, have been severely depleted due to over-harvesting, disease, and stress from poor water quality. Still other species, not native to the area, have flourished and caused problems for natives. Invasive species are the number two threat to biological diversity, second only to loss of habitat (and species) from development and urban sprawl. Exotics such as mute swans, Phragmites (common reed) and the rapa whelk have thrown coastal ecosystems out of balance.
Coastal resources are also being affected by changes beyond our borders such as global warming and land subsidence. These factors have the combined effect of accelerating the loss of thousands of acres of waterfront land. Jamestown Island for example, where the first colonists settled, has been reduced from 1,513 acres in 1910 to 978 acres – an average of almost six acres annually. In some cases entire islands, and the communities that they once supported, have vanished. Before 1900, coastal waters rose at a slow but steady rate of around three feet every 1000 years. In the 20th Century alone, however, water levels rose one foot, and the rate of increase appears to be accelerating.
How Will We Manage the Changes to Come?
Each of these changes demonstrates the need for coastal resource management. In several cases, improved management practices have already helped restore important resources. Although once severely depleted, species such as ospreys, eagles, beaver and rockfish have made remarkable comebacks. But many challenges remain. The Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, through its network of agencies and various initiatives, is designed to help meet these challenges. Initiatives focus on correcting existing coastal resource problems as well as avoiding future problems by planning for and managing change. The challenge for the Virginia CZM Program lies in finding ways to accommodate growth and economic development while protecting the natural and cultural resources that fuel this growth and ultimately help determine our overall quality of life.
Phragmites australis (photo left) is one of the most serious and problematic invasive plant species in Virginia and other coastal states. This fast-spreading plant, which grows in disturbed areas, crowds out native marsh plants. (See www.deq.virginia.gov/coastal/vshp/goals.html for Virginia CZM projects to map and control Phragmites, and provide information to private landowners, on the seaside of the Eastern Shore.)
To better appreciate Virginia’s tremendous coastal resources and the resource management challenges we face, travelers today can revisit many of the areas first viewed by John Smith and his band of explorers 400 years ago. On December 19, 2006 the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail was created. It is the nation’s first all-water National Historic Trail. As we reflect on what Captain Smith saw and the massive changes that have occurred in Virginia’s costal zone, it’s important to remember that change is still occurring, probably at a faster rate than ever before, and that we need, more than ever, to take steps to plan for and manage that change.
