ISSUE 1: Summer 2026

Celebrating 40 Years of Coastal Zone Management in Virginia & Introducing Virginia Coastal Currents

Collaboration is the Key to Success 

This inaugural edition of the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program's "Virginia Coastal Currents" is coming to you on June 23, 2026. Why is that date significant? It was exactly forty years ago today that then Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles approved and established via executive order "the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program". Since then the program has evolved continuously in response to the needs of the Commonwealth. Both the name of the program and its place in state government have changed. The priorities in terms of projects and focus areas have changed regularly, as they should. Certainly the people have changed too.

It may be better to ask what has not changed? To that, we point to the structure of this program, which is made up of a "network" of state agencies & local governments, among other partners, that collectively work to manage and protect the Commonwealth's important coastal resources. Each organization has their distinct jurisdiction and roles, but their role as part of Virginia CZM is to coordinate and collaborate as a network in service of shared goals. Over these four decades this approach has secured wins in natural resource conservation, public access, community resilience, and state and local policy. These are collaborative successes shared by the network on behalf of each of the organizations involved. The root of the work we do here at the "office" is collaboration, whether formally through bodies like the Virginia Coastal Policy Team (image below), or informally through more calls, emails, meetings, and opportune chats than we can count.

Coastal Currents will help Virginia CZM communicate those successes and reinforce the collaboration, just as the Virginia Coastal Zone Management magazine previously did. Sharing the work we do is necessary for that work to provide a foundation for the next steps that others may take. Expanding impact and outcomes is part of demonstrating responsible stewardship of the federal funds managed by the program. Coastal Currents will help do that too.

Each quarterly issue will include several stories sharing the good work done by the Virginia CZM Program and our network of partners. We hope you enjoy this first of many to come.  

Preserving Special Habitat and Public Access

Partners Protect 870 Acres in Southeastern Virginia

Through partnership with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM) at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), one of the largest unprotected blocks of contiguous forests in Southeastern Virginia has been permanently protected by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Natural Heritage Program (DCR-NHP). Along with partnership from The Nature Conservancy in Virginia (TNC), 870 acres adjacent to the South Quay Sandhills Natural Area Preserve were purchased from a private landowner and transferred to DCR-NHP this April.  

The property holds huge promise for habitat restoration, environmental resilience, and public access. DCR-NHP plans to incorporate the property into its longleaf pine community, as longleaf pine is an important species for native animals and is resilient to changing climate conditions. Virginia marks the northernmost habitat for longleaf pine, so restoration projects in the commonwealth are vital for the trees’ success. DCR-NHP and TNC have been officially working with The Longleaf Alliance since 2012, prioritizing stewardship resources and grant funding to re-establish and restore longleaf pine. The property is also ranked as “Outstanding” and “Very High” in the Coastal Virginia Ecological Value Assessment model, and will provide a wildlife corridor for important and at risk species as identified in the Virginia Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.  

“We’re excited to announce this significant step toward protecting these forests, freshwater wetlands and streams near South Quay Sandhills Natural Area Preserve,” said DCR Director Nikki Rovner. “Not only does this project protect water quality in the Chowan River basin, but the opportunity to return longleaf pine savannas to this landscape at such a large scale will be significant for this important ecosystem and the animals and plants that depend on it – such as the red cockaded woodpecker.” 

“This acquisition means continued support for biodiversity, cultural heritage and climate resilience,” said Bettina Ring, Virginia state director for TNC. “We’re proud to work with DCR and our other partners to advance a shared vision for conservation across the longleaf range.” 

“The Nature Conservancy’s partnership has been instrumental in advancing this effort,” said Virginia Natural Heritage Program Chief of Natural Areas Stewardship and Acting Director Lesley Starke. “Their deep commitment to longleaf pine conservation – and their willingness to act in support of this shared goal at a critical moment, made this first phase possible. We are grateful for their partnership.” 

This acquisition marks the completion of the first phase of the project, with another 1,046 acres set to be acquired and transferred to DCR-NHP later in 2026. Once the property is fully acquired, there will be nearly 250 acres of freshwater wetlands and 10 miles of stream reach under permanent protection in the City of Suffolk. This region of Southeast Virginia is severely lacking in public access, especially public water access, and efforts will be made to provide public boat access to the creek contained in the property once cultural, natural, and historic resources have been documented. 

In addition to land conservation, DCR is working with the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership’s Tribal Coastal Resilience Connections and the Indigenous Conservation Council of the Chesapeake Bay to explore historic Tribal Nation and Community connections to the property. DCR hired a Tribal Liaison to work with and learn from these organizations. The Tribal Liaison will begin by meeting with Tribal Nations in Virginia and North Carolina to support a dialogue with Indigenous Peoples who have ancestral ties to the region. Collaborative management of the property between Tribal knowledge and government agencies will be explored, after a space is created for the co-production of knowledge from agency and Indigenous expertise. 

This project was made possible by a $5.6 million grant awarded in 2023 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, substantial acquisition funding from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, and generous assistance by The Nature Conservancy. 

This project was funded in part by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program led by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Grant (#NA24NOSX473C0070) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. 

Increasing Native Plant Use and Availability

Over the last 17 years, the Plant Virginia Natives Initiative has grown! What started with the first regional marketing campaign on the Eastern Shore in 2009 is now a statewide collaborative to increase the use - and drive an increase in the availability - of the beautiful variety of Virginia natives for their numerous ecological, economic and aesthetic benefits. 

The Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM) established and is currently coordinating this marketing partnership, which has now engaged and connected over three hundred local, regional and state organizational partners. 

The initiative includes two facets.

The first is a network of regional native plant marketing campaigns that expanded throughout the coastal zone with CZM funding, across the Piedmont and into the mountains, with funding from a variety of non-CZM sources. There are now 10 campaigns.

What makes the Plant Virginia Natives approach unique is its application of Community-Based Social Marketing, or CBSM, using tool and techniques tools proven effective at changing behavior. When used in tandem – these tools specifically remove the barriers to planting natives that Virginia CZM identified through audience research: captivating communications to gain attention and to educate, collecting a commitment or pledge to plant natives and ultimately changing the social norm in favor of natives, and providing point of sale prompts to help consumers identify natives.

Regional native plant guides continue to be immensely popular. The 6 coastal guides, including the latest edition of the Native Plants for Southeastern Virginia, became a template for guides in the regions west of the coastal zone. See map below. All guides are downloadable from PlantVirginiaNatives.org. Many regional partners have pooled their resources to keep guides in print, and the Virginia Native Plant Society has been facilitating on-line sales of guides to help raise funds toward reprint. Research supported and experience has shown that home gardeners, landscapers and other audiences want the guides in hand when specifying and shopping for plants. Plant Virginia Natives will soon publish a native plant guide of state-wide suitable species in Spanish.

Well over 200,000 guides have been distributed, and they have become an integral part of programs and training provided by many governmental and non-governmental partners as part of their habitat and water quality programs, such as the Virginia Social and Water Conservations Districts VCAP program, and Master Naturalist and Master Naturalist training. Over the last three years, Master Naturalists have volunteered over 6,000 hours across the state in support of Plant Virginia Natives. In support of the regional Point-of-Sale component of Plant Virginia Natives, the Riverine Master Naturalists are piloting a Garden Center Liaison Program designed to facilitate communication between the campaign and regional providers and be transferable to other regions. Virginia CZM staff and the MN coordinator will be speaking at the annual MN conference in September to share the program. Virginia CZM staff leads quarterly collaboration calls with regional campaign coordinators, with an eye on how the work and experience gained by the campaigns is transferrable.

The Plant Virginia Natives Initiative has also inspired efforts beyond Virginia. The Maryland Native Plant Program reached out to learn more and to use Virginia’s regional guide as a template. The first of Maryland’s three physiographic region guides has been printed for their Piedmont. Virginia CZM staff also is currently working with partners in Puerto Rico to share methods and resources to inform four regional campaigns and to design regional campaign logos.   

The second facet of the Plant Virginia Natives initiative is a marketing partnership that is focused on state-wide marketing resources and plant availability, guided by an Action Plan. As the regional native plant marketing campaign effort grew, in 2011 Virginia CZM established this state-wide partnership as a forum to collaborate and coordinate, leading to more consistent messaging to the public and greater efficiencies in the use of limited resources. Members of the partnership indeed have been coordinating their activities and have collaborated on a variety of projects with state-wide benefit. Below are just a few:

• An animated video, “Chickadees, Caterpillars & Oaks, Oh My!”, for all ages to emphasis the critical role of Virginia’s native trees in supporting pollinators. Please share! 
• Virginia Dept of Forestry Throwing Shade incentive program – a partnership with retail nurseries to offer discounts on eligible native trees and shrubs. Regional native plant provider partners helped pilot and have participated every year. 
• A compilation of all plants highlighted in the regional native plant guides informed an update of the Virginia Natural Heritage Program’s Native Plant Finder. 
• Plant Virginia Natives influenced and regional partners contributed to the publication of a guide for Selecting Riparian Trees and Shrubs in Virginia published by the Upper and Middle James Riparian Consortium. (EMBED LINK)
• The Garden Club of Virginia began a new native plant of the year project and as a partner in Plant Virginia Natives encouraged native plant information/exhibits at all 29 headquarter locations during the 2026 Historic Garden Week.

Increasing natives goes in hand with removing invasives. Virginia CZM staff represent the program and the Plant Virginia Natives Initiative on the Virginia Invasive Plant Coalition, directed by Blue Ridge PRISM. 

The PlantVirginiaNatives.org website hosts all but two of the campaigns and has reached nearly 600,000 unique visitors since it was launched. Virginia CZM staff administers the site with the assistance of regional partners and has responded to hundreds of on-line pledges to plant Virginia natives over the last few years. 

How do we know these efforts are changing behavior and creating a social norm in favor of native plants? Last summer, Virginia CZM staff worked with the Plant NOVA Native campaign and a professional marketing firm, OpinionWorks, to conduct a survey and interviews of over 500 residents with yards and gardeners in the region indicating. The results indicate that we are indeed affecting a change of behavior and social norm and that the regional strategy is effective.

• 31% feel “knowledgeable” or “very knowledgeable” today compared to 8% in 2013.
• More than one-third have been intentional about buying native plants.
• Information and conversations about native plants are having a BIG IMPACT. 68% are more likely to want native plants as a result.
• 75% would look to Plant NOVA Natives for information about landscaping.
• Garden center volunteers in NOVA are making a BIG difference by working with retail centers to label native plants.

Plant Virginia Natives partners are currently circulating a statewide native plant provider survey to assess the increase in native plant sales and provider perceptions of demand. The results will inform continued state and regional marketing strategies that will benefit the environment and the native plant trade.

We have a way to go to meet the lofty goals in the partnership’s Action Plan. It is an ongoing challenge to raise demand and supply simultaneously. But we are certain that the yard-sized victories achieved by Plant Virginia Natives partners have a cumulative impact that is helping us accomplish the big picture intent of this plan. Over the next year, we expect to have positive news to share on efforts to get more Virginia natives in hands and into the ground.

Read more details on the model regional campaign strategy, previous accomplishments and partner and consumer testimonials in the last Virginia Coastal Zone Management magazine and on PlantVirginiaNatives.org.  

Contact Virginia Witmer, Virginia CZM outreach coordinator and Plant Virginia Natives Initiative coordinator, Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov for more information. 

Reducing Virginia Marine Debris

2026-2030 Plan Available Soon

The 2026-2030 Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan (VMDRP) will soon be released!  This version of the VMDRP plan will address increasing understanding, and  preventing and mitigating the impacts of four major marine debris types: 

• Consumer Debris and Single-use Plastics
• Derelict Fishing Gear
• Microplastics and Microfibers
• Abandoned and Derelict Vessels

Marine debris has become one of the most widespread pollution problems in the world’s oceans and waterways, impacting wildlife, human health and safety, habitats, and economies. Since the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM) began working on the issue of marine debris in 2013, the topic has been an increasing concern for Virginians. Concerns among local and state government officials have continued to increase. Marine debris coverage in the media has become more prevalent, and public awareness has been elevated.

Every five years, Virginia CZM is required under Section 309 of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act to complete a “coastal needs assessment” for nine coastal issues, one of which is marine debris. The assessment involves prioritizing issues that need attention and solutions and is a necessary step for the Virginia CZM Program to be eligible for special funding from NOAA through the CZMA to make improvements in protection and management in the high priority issue areas through approved strategies.

The FY2011-2015 assessment ranked marine debris as a high priority for the first time and included the creation of a VMDRP as a component of its “ocean resources” strategy. In October 2014, Virginia became the first state on the east coast to publish a marine debris reduction plan.

Marine debris was also ranked a high priority under assessments completed for FY2016 -2020, FY2021-2025 and in FY2026-2030.

The 2026-2030 VMDRP was developed during 2025 and 2026 through a participatory and collaborative process involving marine debris stakeholders in Virginia including representatives from state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, academia, industry and private business partners, regional bodies, natural resource managers, indigenous groups, and others. Virginia CZM, working with Clean Virginia Waterways (CVW), the program’s lead partner on the issue of marine debris, gathered input from stakeholders through surveys, interviews, multiple online and in-person meetings, and the most recent Virginia Marine Debris Summit held in 2025.

“Virginia Marine Debris Summits, held by Virginia CZM and CVW 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, have attracted several hundred stakeholders (non-profit groups, local and state government officials, academics, businesses, and private citizens) who share their work and identify needs to combat this problem,” shared Ryan Green, Virginia CZM program manager. “The 2025 summit began the process for the next update of the plan, while also informing, training, and networking partners working in this space.”

Look for publication of the 2026-2030 VMDRP on the Virginia CZM's marine debris webpage, including a link to a growing list of accomplishments by many partners in preventing and removing marine debris in Virginia.   

Contact Ryan Green, Virginia CZM program manager, Tim.Green@deq.virginia.gov, or Will Isenberg, coastal planner, William.Isenberg@deq.virginia.gov, for more information about the program’s growing involvement in ocean health and management issues.