B. Surrounding
demographic features.
1. Northampton County.
Northampton County is located on the southern half of the Delmarva Peninsula in
Virginia, known as Virginia's Eastern Shore. The southern tip of the Eastern
Shore is connected to the Virginia mainland by the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge-Tunnel.
Northampton County is approximately 35 miles in length with
an average width of six miles. The county extends from the Accomack County line
in the north to Fisherman Island at the southern tip of the peninsula. The
county encompasses about 360 square miles or 229,947 acres of land, tidal
marshes, bayside creeks and barrier islands.
More than half of the total acres in Northampton County are
marshes, bayside creeks, and barrier islands. Twenty-five percent of the land
is in agricultural and forest use. Only 3.0% of the land is developed for
residential and commercial use. The remaining portion is undeveloped.
Northampton County is governed by a Board of Supervisors. The
county seat is in Eastville. According to statistics published in the 1990
census, the population of Northampton County is 13,061. The county is
predominantly rural with occasional small residential centers. The basis of the
economy is agriculture and seafood. The main occupations are in retail trade;
the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries; manufacturing; construction;
tourism; and health/education services.
2. Accomack County. Accomack County is
located on the northern half of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Accomack County is
approximately 45 miles long with an average width of 15 miles. The county
stretches from the Northampton County line at the south to the Maryland state
line at the north, and out to Tangier and Smith Islands in the Chesapeake Bay.
Accomack County encompasses approximately 476 square miles,
or 300,649 acres of mainland, marsh and barrier islands. Sixty-six percent of
the mainland is in agricultural and forest use. Twenty-three percent of the
land is tidal marshes and barrier islands, and the remaining 11% is developed
for residential and commercial use.
Accomack County is governed by a Board of Supervisors. The
county seat is in Accomac. According to statistics published in the 1990
census, the population of Accomack County is 31,703. The main occupations are
in retail trade; manufacturing; health/education; tourism; and the agriculture,
farming and fishing industries.
D. Land use.
1. Historic uses. The ungranted state lands
covered by this management plan have historically been open to the public for
traditional subsistence and recreational uses. Open access to beaches, marshes
and meadowlands has been allowed in the past for recreational activities such
as hunting, fishing, fowling, trapping, camping, salvaging, and egging. In
addition, commercial harvest of fowl, furbearers, finfish, shellfish, and
terrapin has been allowed historically subject to state and federal regulations
and, for personal and family use, by local citizens for centuries. These rights
are intrinsic to the commons concept recognized in Virginia statutes and such
uses are supported by historical precedent and general usage.
2. Current uses. Ungranted state lands are
currently used for recreational and commercial activities, subject to state and
federal regulations. It should be noted that certain historical uses, such as
egging, are no longer permissible under current legislation. This plan does not
change existing laws and regulations concerning recreational and commercial
activities or other traditional uses of the ungranted state lands. If it is,
however, found that these activities threaten the natural integrity of these
lands, it may be necessary to revise existing laws and regulations or to
establish new guidelines or policies. Such changes would be in accordance with
established procedures.
3.
Surrounding land holdings.
a. Accomack
County. The land surrounding the ungranted state lands in Accomack County fall
into two categories of the Accomack zoning ordinance:
(i) the agriculture district which covers
portions of the county occupied by various open uses such as marsh lands,
beaches, forests, parks and farms; and
(ii) the Barrier Island District. In
addition, Accomack County has a wetlands ordinance and a Chesapeake Bay
preservation ordinance which overlay the zoning ordinance. Any development in
these zoning districts is subject to the restrictions and regulations of the
Accomack zoning ordinance. The county's future land use plans are detailed in
the Accomack Comprehensive Plan, Section 5.
b. Northampton County. The land surrounding
the ungranted state lands in Northampton County is currently zoned as an
agriculture/residential district. There are, however, several ordinances that
overlay the agriculture district. These are the Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic Ocean
Preservation Area, the wetlands ordinance, and the primary sand dune ordinance.
The future land use plan for Northampton County is detailed in Part II of the
Northampton Comprehensive Plan.
4. The Nature Conservancy land holdings. The
Nature Conservancy, a private, nonprofit conservation organization, owns and
manages 14 islands, saltmarsh tracts, and adjacent mainland sites totaling
40,000 acres on Virginia's Eastern Shore. This area is called the Virginia
Coast Reserve, and it has been designated a Biosphere Reserve by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its Man
and the Biosphere Programme, recognizing it as one of the world's most
important ecosystems. The Nature Conservancy is working to protect significant
ecological values on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
5. Federal land holdings. The federal
government has extensive holdings on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service administers the National Wildlife Refuge System for the
protection and conservation of fish and wildlife including those threatened
with extinction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has two offices, the
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and the Eastern Shore National Wildlife
Refuge, that manage the federal holdings on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The
federal holdings are:
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge:
Assateague-9,459 acres
Chincoteague-550 acres
Morris Island-427 acres
Assawoman Island-1,434 acres
Metomkin Island-174 acres
Cedar Island-1,250 acres
Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge-752 acres
Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge-1,825 acres
Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge-3,376 acres (3,000
acres owned by NASA)
6.
State land holdings. In addition to the ungranted state lands covered by this
management plan, the Commonwealth of Virginia owns lands designated as natural
areas and state parks on the Eastern Shore. These are:
Wreck and Bone Island-a natural area preserve managed by the
Department of Conservation and Recreation-1,380 acres
Parker's Marsh-a natural area managed by the Department of
Conservation and Recreation-750 acres
Kiptopeke State Park-managed by the Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Division of State Parks-375 acres
Mockhorn Island-a wildlife management area managed by the
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries-7,642 acres
Saxis Marsh-a wildlife management area managed by the
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries-5,574.34 acres
7. Local land holdings.
Raccoon Park-located in Northampton County-60 acres