Stafford County Shoreline Management Plan

With approximately 85 percent of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline privately owned, a critical need exists to increase awareness of erosion potential and the choices available for shore stabilization that maintains ecosystem services at the land-water interface. The National Academy of Science published a report that spotlights the need to develop a shoreline management framework (NRC, 2007). It suggests that improving awareness of the choices available for erosion control, considering cumulative consequences of erosion mitigation approaches, and improving shoreline management planning are key elements to minimizing adverse environmental impacts associated with mitigating shore erosion. Actions taken by waterfront property owners to stabilize the shoreline can affect the health of the Bay as well as adjacent properties for decades. With these long-term implications, managers at the local level should have a more proactive role in how shorelines are managed. The County recognizes that development has led to increased runoff and non-point source pollution and identifies the need to guide efforts to maintain water quality, preserve wildlife habitats, and minimize the risk of natural hazards (Stafford County Planning Commission, 2010). The shores of Stafford range from exposed open-river to very sheltered creeks, and the nature of shoreline change varies accordingly (Figure 1-1). This shoreline management plan is useful for evaluating and planning shoreline management strategies appropriate for all the creeks and rivers of Stafford. It ties the physical and hydrodynamic elements of tidal shorelines to the various shoreline protection strategies