The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is working with partners to permanently protect 8,884 acres of land–the largest privately-held land holding–on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Delmarva Peninsula is a hemispherically-significant region that supports migratory stopover habitat for millions of birds each year.
Newly protected land on the Delmarva Peninsula. VADWR
Heralded as a “once in a generation” opportunity to acquire this much land at one time, the project has been years in the making and required the support of a multitude of partners that view this as a top conservation priority, including Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, New Forest Fund IV, LLC, Virginia Outdoors Foundation, The Wildlife Foundation of Virginia, and private donors. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already approved a total of $4 million of the over $10 million project through both the NAWCA and National Coastal Wetland Conservation Grants programs.
More than 70% of the land is comprised of wetlands. Several parcels are adjacent to and will expand and buffer two existing Wildlife Management Areas on the Eastern Shore (Saxis and Doe Creek), greatly expanding public outdoor recreation opportunities in a part of the state with limited public access. Much of the land falls within the marsh migration zone predicted for 3’ and 6’ sea level rise, and nearly all of that acreage is rated as “Above” or “Far Above Average” in its resilience score, according to TNC. This project provides future restoration opportunities that can help maintain and restore populations of American Black Duck, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and Black Rail, and conserve water quality in the greater Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.