Protecting and Restoring Habitat in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula

Healthy wetlands and oyster reefs support fish, wildlife, and communities.

Virginia’s Middle Peninsula is a beautiful part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed—both on and off the water. But it faces challenges due to climate change, a lack of capacity to restore habitat, and rural coastal economic hardship. While the Middle Peninsula isn’t as highly populated as many parts of Virginia, it is still home to many people. Residents live mostly near the shore, so ensuring that shorelines are resilient is important for this area’s future.

That’s why we’re working with partners to restore and conserve fish habitat and to enhance coastal community resilience to climate change. The area was selected as a NOAA Habitat Focus Area  in 2022.

Restoring and protecting habitats including wetlands and oyster reefs is important for both the ecosystem and the economy. Research by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science indicates that Middle Peninsula marshes and living shorelines create benefits valued at $6.4 million each year.

Protecting Wetlands Using Nature-Based Solutions

Preserving healthy wetlands is an important part of the Middle Peninsula Habitat Focus Area effort. Hog Island is a relatively small island made up almost entirely of wetlands. It is located by the southwest entrance to Mobjack Bay. It is one of the first places wind and waves coming into the Chesapeake from the southeast make landfall. It helps shelter nearby areas, including a nearby oyster aquaculture farm as well as other wetlands and the mainland behind it. But years of wind and waves, sea level rise, and other changes, have led to erosion. Its south-facing shoreline along the York River, which sees the highest wave energy, is eroding at 4 to 5 feet per year.

Because Hog Island’s wetlands serve as a buffer, helping the communities on the mainland behind it persist, it’s important that Hog Island is protected.

read more at fisheries.noaa.gov.