The Greenway and Blueway Plan
Case Study
The Greenway and Blueway Plan
Location - Virginia Beach, VA; Chesapeake, VA; and Currituck, NC
Summary - In the southern-most parts of Virginia Beach and in Chesapeake, Virginia and Currituck, North Carolina there are 50 thousand acres that contain valuable natural resources and habitats, as well as recreational opportunities for people to enjoy. The Green Sea Blueway and Greenway Management Plan aims to strategically protect, conserve, and manage these lands for future generations through cultural and recreational resources, outreach, and education.
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Key Vulnerabilities - There is a deep cultural history within this proposed swampland and marsh area that should be preserved and appreciated.Protection - At the same time, the presence of tidal and nontidal wetlands, low-lying floodplains within close proximity to agricultural lands calls for a strategy to protect a diverse ecology that contains many rare plant, animal, and wetland species. By developing a blueway and greenway in the Green Sea area, people will be able to participate in recreational and educational activities that cultivate stewardship and appreciation for the conserved waterways and species.
The Greenway in Section
About the Plan - The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission developed a strategy that would help to protect and enhance the natural resources, sensitive lands, and water supplies between the three counties that surround an area known as the Green Sea. This area is along nearly 30 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway System and is host to a number of important species of both plants and animals. There were already about 50 thousand acres of protected land between the three involved jurisdictions, of which a sixth of the proposed landmass for the Green Sea was already protected within Virginia Beach.
Because of this, the HRPDC’s strategy for these three counties outlines a set of eight goals to be accomplished so that the overall plan can be implemented. These goals address the administration by stakeholders and agencies to manage and gather funds for the plan, promotion of the plan, management of the natural resources, protection of the lands for thriving ecosystems and recreation, management of the facilities on the land, and educational opportunities through programs in the green sea area and partnerships with other organizations.
Today - The plan was implemented in the middle of 2015 and has been presented to both the Currituck County Board of Commissioners and the Chesapeake City Council who have since adopted the resolution to endorse this plan, and the Virginia Beach City Council has adopted this plan.
