Virginia

Birds of the Coast Have a Friend in NOAA

The Takeaway: At a critical time for many species, NOAA collaborates with partners to protect coastal bird habitats and populations.

Chesapeake Bay Initiative Educates Hundreds of Virginia Students

The Takeaway: Chesapeake Bay Research Reserve-Virginia partners with local teachers to educate students about the country’s largest watershed.

Cold-Stun Alert Aids Fishery Managers and Seatrout Stocks

The Takeaway: The alerts’ real-time monitoring data comes from three research reserves in Virginia and South Carolina.

Collaboration Aids Fishermen and Offshore Wind Management

The Takeaway: Fine-scale maps of Virginia fishing locations will aid future planning efforts.

Council Approves Plan to Make Virginia Beach “Sea Level Wise”

The Takeaway: Six-year study details urgently needed adaptation strategies, complete with potential benefits, costs, and challenges.

Environmental Educators Tailor Lessons to Diverse Student Needs

The Takeaway: Students of the coast love to learn when educators reach them where they are—whether that’s online, in the field, or through the wisdom of their own culture and stewardship traditions.

Estuary Education Goes Virtual

The Takeaway: NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System provides online tours, activity books, and more to teachers and students.

First-Ever National Marsh Assessment Tool

The Takeaway: Research reserves determine methodology for calculating sea level rise impact on the marsh and test it in 16 locations. Methodology standardizes the effort and creates a national approach.

Groundbreaking Study Uses Reserves to Evaluate Restoration Success

The Takeaway: Newly standardized performance measures make it easier and more economical to evaluate wetland restoration projects.

Hampton Roads’ Sea Level Rise Adaptation Advances on Multiple Fronts

The Takeaway: The area has several projects underway to help improve current conditions and plan for the future.

NOAA Expands Coastal Opportunities for People with Disabilities

The Takeaway: Creating sign language for “estuary” and other coastal terms, and trails that accommodate wheelchairs and the needs of the visually impaired—these are just two of the contributions from research reserves and coastal zone management programs.

NOAA Provides Assistance to Coastal Communities

The Takeaway: Some U.S. coastal communities have plentiful data for creating robust resilience plans. Others are struggling to catch up. NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management is focused on providing equal access to the data, tools, and expertise they deserve.

Parasite-Host Findings Aid Knowledge of Temperature Impacts

The Takeaway: Research reserve data from seven states contributed to one of the first U.S. studies to quantify how temperature-parasite interactions affect the survival of both parasites and their hosts.

Plan and Legislation Secure Economic Vitality of Working Waterfronts

The Takeaway: Five new bills will help promote and protect economic activity along Virginia’s waterfront communities.

Program’s Leadership and Data Maps Lessen Ocean-Use Conflicts

The Takeaway: As offshore wind energy comes to the state, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program helps a variety of sectors air concerns and document existing ocean uses.

Study of 15 Research Reserves Finds Crabs Pose No Large-Scale Salt Marsh Threat

The Takeaway: While specific crab species can cause local damage, rising seas appear to be a bigger threat to salt marshes nationwide.

Teacher Workshop Makes Estuary Science Come Alive

The Takeaway: Virginia teachers take this priceless experience back to their classrooms and transfer knowledge to their students.

Tool Reduces Ocean Conflicts

The Takeaway: Offering a cohesive approach to offshore management, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan aids industries connected to offshore energy, tourism, undersea cables, and marine traffic.

Towns Will Cut Flooding While Boosting Public Access and Compliance

The Takeaway: Virginia’s coastal towns will identify sites to protect and restore that fulfill a variety of needs.

Virginia Collaborative Promotes Economic Perks of Lower Chickahominy Conservation

The Takeaway: The Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program and partners—buoyed by evidence that conservation funnels millions of extra dollars into the local economy—have signed a memorandum of understanding that promotes ecotourism’s economic benefits and helps preserve Indigenous and ecological assets.

Virginia Features World’s Most Successful Eelgrass Restoration Project

The Takeaway: Project partners have grown this estuary resource from zero to 9,000 acres, thanks to continuous support from the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.

Virginia Partnership Launches “Prevent Balloon Litter” Sites

The Takeaway: The state’s coastal zone management program and partners offer ideas to lessen the threat, spotlighting fun and expressive ways to celebrate without producing litter.

Website Shows People Where to Fish, Swim, and Play

The Takeaway: Providing public access information helps promote recreation and tourism, which fuels Virginia’s ocean economy.