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Protocols for Implementation of a GIS-based Model for the Selection of Potential Wetlands Restoration Sites Southeastern Virginia Marcia Berman Tamia Rudnicky Harry Berquist Carl Hershner Center for Coastal Resources Management Virginia Institute of Marine Science College of William and Mary Gl;oucester Point, Virginia 23062 prepared for United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region III Office of Environmental Programs 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 June, 2002 Assistance ID Number: CD-98320101l CHAPTER I - Introduction 1.1 Background In the 1970s, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) received a influencing the coastal character of the county are the Rappahannock River and lected between May 18 - August 23, 1999. Conditions are reported for three grant through the National Science Foundation’s Research Applied to National the Chesapeake Bay. Major rivers discharging into these waters include the zones within the immediate riparian river area: riparian land use, bank and Needs Program to develop a series of reports which would describe the condi- Corrotoman River, Carters Creek, Mosquito Creek, Antipoison Creek, Tabbs buffers, and the shoreline. A series of maps and tabular data are published to tion of tidal shorelines in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These reports became Creek, Dymer Creek, and Indian Creek. Indian Creek is the boundary between illustrate and quantify results of an extensive shoreline survey. The survey known as the Shoreline Situation Reports. They were published on a county by Lancaster and Northumberland County. extends from the border of Lancaster County and Northumberland County on county basis with additional resources provided by the National Oceanic and Indian Creek south along the Bay to Windmill Point. From Windmill Point the Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coastal Zone Management (Morgan Lancaster County is a rural residential community, with well developed survey includes the main shoreline of the Rappahannock River and all navigable et.al., 1978). waterfront communities. Recreational and commercial uses of the water are tidal rivers in the county to the county border with Richmond County (Figure 1). prevalent in the county. The town of Kilmarnock serves as a major center for The Shoreline Situation Reports quickly became a common desktop retail and service business. There are plans to expand economic development reference for nearly all shoreline managers, regulators, and planners within the opportunities within the county in the near future (Lancaster County Planning 1.4 Report Organization Tidewater region. They provided useful information to address the common Commission, 2000). management questions and dilemmas of the time. Despite their age, these This report is divided into several sections. Chapter 2 describes meth- reports remain a desk top reference. Lancaster County has just recently revised its Comprehensive Plan (Lancaster County Planning Commission, 2000). The plan recognizes several ods used to develop this inventory, along with conditions and attributes consid- The Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program (CCI) is committed to important considerations for future development. First, the constraints to ered in the survey. Chapter 3 identifies potential applications for the data, with developing a revised series of Shoreline Situation Reports which address the development, previous land uses, potential uses, and future needs to allow the a focus on current management issues. From existing literature and the current management questions of today. The series reports shoreline conditions on a county to continue to prosper. These needs include water supply, and opportuni- survey, Chapter 4 reports the general state of the county’s shoreline, and county by county basis. New techniques integrate a combination of Geographic ties for land conversion. Activities at the shore are addressed and a shoreline integrates a series of maps which illustrate current conditions. Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and remote sensing management plan is detailed. With more than 97% of the shore in private technology. Reports are distributed in hardcopy. The digital GIS coverages ownership, maintaining public access is difficult. A study plan is proposed to developed for the report are available on the web at www.vims.edu/ccrm/gis/ address this problem. 1.5 Acknowledgments gisdata.html. CCI is exploring techniques for serving the publications online. Those interested should check the CCI web site periodically at www.vims.edu/ Tidal shoreline protection is recognized to constrain and guide develop- This report has been primarily funded by the Comprehensive Coastal ccrm/publications.html. ment activities at the shore. Regulations established through the Clean Water Inventory Program (CCI) with monies appropriated by the General Assembly. Act, and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act are discussed. Approximately The Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program at the Department of 3,356 acres of land in the county is designated within the Resource Protection Environmental Quality provided funds to support data processing through Grant 1.2 Description of the Locality Areas (RPAs). This designation is reported to be consistent with regulations set # NA770Z0204 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, forth in the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (100 foot buffers landward of all Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, under the Coastal Zone streams, adjoining wetlands, and related sensitive areas). Resource Management Lancaster County is approximately 133 square miles of land area, with Management Act of 1972, as amended. The Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Areas (RMAs) include all land outside the RPA. (Lancaster County Planning 51 square miles of major surface water (Figure 1). Lancaster County is located Department supported the publication of this report through award number Commission, 2000). in Virginia on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, at the southern limit of 011D300. This work was completed entirely with staff support and manage- the peninsula known as the Northern Neck. The county borders ment from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s CCI Program. A host of Northumberland County to the north, and Richmond County to the west. The individuals are acknowledged. In addition to those listed as preparers, the southern shore of the county borders the Rappahannock River which divides 1.3 Purpose and Goals project directors would like to thank Dave Weiss of CCI, the VIMS Vessel Lancaster from Middlesex County. The eastern shore of the county is contigu- Center, the VIMS Publication Center for their support, and Troy Anderson for his ous to the Chesapeake Bay. Major waterways and bays along the eastern edge This shoreline inventory has been developed as a tool for assessing assistance in the field. of the county discharge directly to the Chesapeake. The major waterways conditions along the tidal shoreline in Lancaster County. Field data were col- CHAPTER 2 - The Shoreline Assessment: Approach and Considerations 2.1 Introduction This width is calculated from digital imagery as part of the quality control in data processing. The Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program (CCI) has developed a 2.2b) Bank Condition: The bank extends off the fastland, and serves as an set of protocols for describing shoreline conditions along Virginia’s tidal shore- interface between the upland and the shore. It is a source of sediment and line. The assessment approach uses state of the art Global Positioning Systems nutrient fluxes from the fastland, and bears many of the upland soil characteris- (GPS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to collect, analyze, and display tics which determine water quality in receiving waters. Bank stability is impor- shoreline conditions. These protocols and techniques have been developed over tant for several reasons. The bank protects the upland from wave energy during several years, incorporating suggestions and data needs conveyed by state storm activity. The faster the bank erodes, the sooner the upland will be at risk. agency and local government professionals. Bank erosion can contribute high sediment loads to the receiving waters. Stabil- Three separate activities embody the development of a Shoreline Situa- ity of the bank depends on several factors: height, slope, sediment composition, tion Report: data collection, data processing and analysis, and map generation. vegetative cover, and the presence of buffers to absorb energy impact to the Data collection follows a three tiered shoreline assessment approach described bank itself. below. The bank assessment in this inventory addresses four major bank charac- teristics: bank height, bank cover, bank stability, and the presence of stable or unstable natural buffers at the bank toe (Table 2). Conditions are recorded 2.2 Three Tiered Shoreline Assessment continuously using GPS as the boat moves along the shoreline. The GPS log A GPS operator observes shoreline conditions from a shoal draft boat. reflects any changes in conditions observed. The data inventory developed for the Shoreline Situation Report is based on a three-tiered shoreline assessment approach. This assessment characterizes conditions in the shorezone, which extends from a narrow portion of the riparian zone seaward to the shoreline. This assessment approach was developed to use Table 1. Tier One - Riparian Land Use Classes observations which could be made from a moving boat.

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