Data: Blue Infrastructure
The Blue Infrastructure online mapping tool integrates important aquatic resources that have been compiled for the coastal zone of Virginia using GIS technology. These resource should be considered when activities in or near the water have the potential to cause adverse impacts. To use this tool, you must first read and agree to conditions outlined in the disclaimer. Developers of Blue Infrastructure recognize that final products are limited by available GIS data, and future updates will improve these products as new data become available.
In theory, the audience who will benefit most from Blue Infrastructure products are managers within local and regional governments, as well as those within citizen groups who play an important role in lobbying for environmental initiatives and building awareness within communities. In many ways these individuals have the greatest opportunity for determining the character and quality of the waterway. Blue infrastructure must recognize that community development at the waterfront contributes to the overall condition achievable for the aquatic ecosystem. Seemingly, land use choices may conflict with desires to support the highest levels of aquatic health. Blue Infrastructure is not intended as a tool to help mediate use conflicts. It will incorporate community structure and its choices, and attempt to highlight where land use decisions may be in conflict with sensitive and important aquatic resources.
These data represent archives from a variety of agencies and programs. Within the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, data from the Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program (CCI), and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) survey program are included. Data contributions from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and Virginia Commonwealth University were essential. Metadata records provided by the data developer can be accessed by clicking on data layers in the data layer menu. If metadata records are not available for a particular data theme, a brief description of the data has been prepared. The final project report can be downloaded.
This project was funded in part by the Virginia Coastal Program at the Department of Environmental Quality, Grant Number NA03NOS4190104 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended.
NOTES:
Blue Infrastructure Interactive Map Site was revised in January, 2006 when Virginia's Fisheries Management Areas were added. These data reflect locations of regulated fishery management zones within the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. These areas are delineated and regulated by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), and boundaries are subject to change. Please see metadata and Disclaimer below. This revision has been funded in part by the Virginia Coastal Resources Program at the Department of Environmental Quality, Grant Number NA03NOS4190104 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended.
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