By Ernie Smith
It’s not obvious at first glance, but at 3,315 miles, Virginia has a shoreline nearly the size of California’s. It’s just a few miles off of Texas. It even tops Michigan, which is a state of peninsulas. All those nooks and crannies add up!
We know this thanks to ongoing surveying and research work that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has managed and conducted for decades. More broadly, NOAA’s efforts have helped us better utilize two of our most important resources: the oceans and the atmosphere.
In recent months, NOAA has found itself in the crosshairs of a broader effort to cut federal funding, with staffing changes alone creating mass confusion. Beyond its work with the National Weather Service, NOAA’s work isn’t generally very front-facing. But it’s still vital to Hampton Roads in a way that goes beyond hurricanes.
Photos Courtesy of EMC
The agency’s local presence takes multiple forms: For example, the Marine Operations Center—Atlantic (MOC-A) maintains numerous surveying ships, most notably the Thomas Jefferson, which can scan detailed imagery of the sea floor. (“The 208-ft. ship is one of NOAA’s most valuable assets following a severe weather event or ocean emergency,” the agency claims on its website.)
Meanwhile, NOAA’s fisheries arm supports a regional office at Gloucester Point.
Ryan Green, the program manager of the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (VCZMP), sees how this plays out up close. He may not be an NOAA employee, technically under the purview of the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, but his program wouldn’t exist without funding from the Coastal Zone Management Act, a 1972 federal law that NOAA administers across nearly every coastal state.
“What that act essentially does is lay out federal support, federal strategy, and then provides funding to coastal zone programs,” Green said. “And that is through NOAA, our longtime partner in this work.”
Photos Courtesy of EMC. Blowing shell off boat in Lynnhaven 2019 - VMRC
