By Elena Campbell
Title image: Former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam holding up a sign that highlights the partnerships that helped contribute to this grant project. Photo courtesy of Meghan Marchetti, VDWR
On January 11, 2022, as a capstone to his four years as Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam traveled to Doe Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to celebrate a milestone in a remarkable 8,654-acre wildlife conservation initiative.
Doe Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is one of three public conservation lands maintained by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR) on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. An Eastern Shore native, Governor Northam was a key figure in securing the funding that will see Doe Creek significantly expanded to protect threatened wildlife and create new outdoor opportunities for the public.
Working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, The Wildlife Foundation of Virginia, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, American Bird Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Walmart’s Acres for America program) and Ducks Unlimited, the VDWR will purchase approximately 8,654 acres within Virginia’s section of the Delmarva Peninsula, nationally recognized as critical habitat for migratory birds to use as a stopover location while travelling along the Atlantic coast.
“This land acquisition won’t only be able to provide the public with opportunities in the immediate area, but it will also benefit the migratory bird species populations along the east coast by securing conserved land along their annual routes,” said Mitch Hartley, North Atlantic Coordinator of Atlantic Coast Joint Venture.
According to VDWR, the acreage will increase opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor activities and will be accessible to more than 2 million people living in the surrounding area.
Wedged between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the Delmarva Peninsula habitat benefits more than 30 species of wildlife considered “of Greatest Conservation Need”, according to Virginia’s 2015 Wildlife Action Plan, relying upon the Eastern Shore as a vital migrating, foraging, and breeding habitat. Due to rising sea levels, this habitat is considered one of the most vulnerable areas in the United States. The conservation effort will secure coastal areas as well as adjacent uplands to help maintain habitat for these species into the future.
The January gathering at Doe Creek celebrated the first phase of the project – the conservation of 1,044 acres on December 29, 2021. VDWR received over $1M in federal Wildlife Restoration Act funds from USFWS’ Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program to cover most of the cost of Phase 1.
Wildlife Restoration Act grants are funded by excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, and provide a significant portion of funds to state fish and wildlife agencies for land conservation efforts.
“This land conservation initiative on the Eastern Shore is an example of how valuable partnerships between the state and federal government, conservation organizations, and the supporting hunting and fishing industries can achieve conservation outcomes and provide public outdoor opportunities,” said Colleen Sculley, Assistant Director of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program in the Service’s North Atlantic-Appalachian Region. The VDWR operates and maintains more than 46 WMA’s totaling more than 230,000 acres statewide using Wildlife Restoration grant funds.
Future phases will conserve the remaining acreage with Wildlife Restoration grants and funds from two other grant programs also administered by Service -VDWR has received two $1M National Coastal Wetlands Grants and Ducks Unlimited received a $2M North American Wetlands Conservation Act Program grant. With climate change, habitat loss, and other threats facing wildlife on the Delmarva Peninsula, the combined investment of $8.5M in Service grant funds stands to make a significant impact for wildlife on the Eastern Shore.
