Dragon Run Special Area Management Plan

Photo credits: Teta Kain, FoDRDavid Fuss, MPPDC

What is the PDC?What is the PDC?

• Regional government cooperation• Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King

William, Mathews, Middlesex & Tappahannock, Urbanna, West Point

• Supervisors/Councilors and citizens• Staff – planners, administrative• Transportation, business/economic

development, environmental, housing, community services, technical assistance to local governments

What is the Dragon Run Steering Committee?

• Represents localities and landowners in efforts to preserve the natural and economic resources of the Dragon Run

• Formed in 1985 following Symposium

• Supervisors and landowners from Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, and Middlesex Counties

• Staff support

What is the Dragon Run SAMP?

What is the Dragon Run SAMP?

• Partnership of Dragon Run Steering Committee and Virginia Coastal Program

• 100% grant funded by NOAA• Main focus: high quality of life and its unique

characteristics in the Chesapeake Bay region– Traditional uses (farming, forestry, hunting,

fishing, boating)– Rare, threatened, and endangered species

and natural communities (e.g. cypress, bald eagle)

MissionMission

The project’s mission is to support and promote community-based efforts to preserve the cultural, historic, and natural character of the Dragon Run, while preserving property rights and the traditional uses (farming, forestry, hunting, fishing) within the watershed

What is a watershed?

• A watershed is an area of land that drains to a particular body of water

• Within the watershed, the ways in which people live and the tools that they use to manage their land affects the water (quality and quantity) and the land (natural resources)

Community-Based EffortCommunity-Based Effort

• Dragon Run Steering Committee – Landowners and elected officials from each

county in watershed – Working towards this project for years

• The Steering Committee’s Advisory Group consists of Committee members, local officials, landowners, business & industry, non-profits, state agencies, educators

• So far, the project is the work of more than 60 people at 32 meetings over a 17-month period

Goals and ObjectivesGoals and Objectives

• Establish a high level of cooperation and communication between the four counties within the watershed– Develop a plan to address development

pressure to change the traditional use of land in the Dragon Run

– Achieve consistency across county boundaries among land use plans and regulations

Goals and ObjectivesGoals and Objectives

• Foster educational partnerships and opportunities to establish the community’s connection to and respect for the land and water of the Dragon Run – Encourage experience-based education

– Promote the community and economic benefits of the Dragon Run

Hunting and Fishing

Hunting and Fishing

• More than 46 % of the watershed is leased by hunt clubs

• > $300,000 generated due to hunt club activity

• > $1.6 million in fishing activity

Farming and ForestryFarming and Forestry

• Agricultural Value = > $3 Million

• Timber Value = > $68 Million

• Additional value for direct and indirect costs to produce products

Goals and ObjectivesGoals and Objectives

• Promote the concept of landowner stewardship that has served to preserve the Dragon Run as a regional treasure

– Address the dilemma between preserving the sense of peace and serenity by protecting open space and landowner rights in determining future land use

– Educate citizens about the regional importance of the Dragon Run

What Happens Next?What Happens Next?

• The Steering Committee’s Advisory Group is developing action plans

• Information gathering – natural resources, land use policies

• Grants – no local $$$

• Recommendations to the Planning District Commission and the Boards of Supervisors

How Do I Get Involved?How Do I Get Involved?

• Anyone is welcome and everyone is encouraged to participate at any time

• You can help to develop action plans• You can talk to your county’s appointed

representatives to the Dragon Run Steering Committee or to Planning District Commission staff to make sure your concerns and ideas are heard and used in the planning process