An Analysis of Shoreline Development Risk for Secondary Dune Systems in Tidewater Virginia with Associated Management Recommendations

This project was done in response to concerns by environmental resource managers of historic and potential adverse impacts to Virginia’s secondary dune ecosystems. Virginia environmental regulatory programs have little decision-making authority over the use of secondary dunes as these areas are not included in the Coastal Primary Sand Dune Act (the Dunes Act). These areas function as estuarine edge habitat and provide natural upland erosion control, and are thus valuable to estuarine and coastal plain fauna and adjacent upland property owners