Kayakers follow the Virginia Seaside Water Trail along the coast of the Eastern Shore.
Photo courtesy of Southeast Expeditions.
Program of the Month:
Paddling the Eastern Shore’s Seaside
There are nearly 40 ways to experience the seaside of the Eastern Shore using the new Virginia Seaside Water Trail, which meanders around the rich salt marshes and barrier island lagoons that hug the peninsula.
Developed with funds from the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, the trail consists of a series of 38 paddling routes for kayakers and canoeists along the nearly 80-mile long Eastern Shore. The trail guide is available online with printable maps of the routes, links to navigational charts and outfitters, driving directions and other essential information.
This project is the latest effort in the program’s Virginia Seaside Heritage Program. Entering its fourth year in operation, the seaside program is focused on restoring and protecting the resources and sustainable industries of the area. The development of an ecotourism component is a reflection of the program’s success.
After all, “You’re not going to have an ecotourism industry if there is polluted water and nothing beautiful to look at,” said Laura McKay, manager of the coastal program at the Department of Environmental Quality, the lead state agency. “It is an industry that depends completely on the high quality of an area’s natural resources.”
Disease, hurricanes, invasive species, over-harvesting and an increase in shorebird predators all contributed to falling numbers of oysters, sea grasses and shorebirds during the last century. For the last 15 years, Virginia’s coastal program has been working to restore this environment, and the seaside heritage work is the latest incarnation of this effort.
The program works with a network of local, state and federal agencies; academic institutions; and conservation and community groups on projects for the seaside. With funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the program has awarded grants to restore oyster reefs and underwater grasses, control invasive species and protect areas for aquaculture. The funding also has helped enhance ecotourism through the water trail and an ecotour guide certification program, and improve public access to the water.
“At low tide, you can once again see sea grasses landward of Wreck Island, where we’ve planted them from seeds, and now you may even see seahorses, fish and crabs hiding or foraging in the grass beds,” McKay said.
The program also funded the restoration of many sanctuary reefs for oysters that are visible at low-tide along the trail. The return of the oysters also increased the numbers of oystercatchers, birds with long, thin beaks that depend on oysters for food.
“The last time I was there it was heartening to see so many oystercatchers everywhere,” McKay said.
Other birds that nest on the beaches and in the marshes of the Eastern Shore are also making a comeback with improvements to their habitats that have been funded, in part, by the coastal program.
“Our great hope is that people who experience this national treasure up-close in a canoe or kayak will begin to understand its complexity and beauty, and will become champions for its protection,” McKay said.