Virginia Coastal Zone Management - Spring/Summer 2007
Visit Your Coastal Public Access Sites
By Laura McKay, Program Manager
View of Town of Cape Charles from its bayside beach.
Birding Festival Moves to Cape Charles
Since 1993 the Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival has been held on the grounds of the Sunset Beach Resort. This year the October 5-7 festival will be held in the charming Bayside Town of Cape Charles. The Friday evening reception will be held in the Palace Theater on Mason Avenue overlooking the harbor. Registration and exhibits will be held in the town’s fire house on Mason Avenue and workshops will be held at various locations throughout the town. The Town will host a “Lure of the Shore” event on Saturday night with local food and music. Festival go-ers will be able to walk to Cape Charles’ shops and restaurants and also enjoy the town’s extensive jetty pier built with Saltwater Recreational Fishing License and CZM funds. To find out more and register for the festival go to www.esvachamber.org/festivals/birding/.
If Captain John Smith Could See It Now
On April 26, 1607 when John Smith and the Virginia Company arrived at what is now called First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, there was no boardwalk, no cabins, no amphitheater, and no gift shop. But today, for you, all those things are available at Virginia’s most visited state park …and the boardwalk just got a very upscale makeover!
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation overhauled the park’s 20 year old elevated boardwalk with funding from state sources, the Virginia CZM Program and the Virginia Recreational Trails Fund Program (using Federal Highway Administration funds).
In addition to the park’s historic significance, its 2,888 acres have tremendous natural significance. First Landing, originally called Seashore State Park when bought by the state back in 1933, was added to the National Register of Natural Landmarks in 1965 “because of its distinction as the northernmost location on the East Coast where subtropical and temperate plants grow and thrive together,” according to DCR’s website: www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fir.shtml.
