NORFOLK, Va. — A first-of-its-kind agreement to protect wetlands from rising sea levels was signed in Norfolk on Tuesday.
Alongside Wetlands Watch and Coastal Virginia Conservancy (CVC), the Elizabeth River Project signed the nation's first rolling conservation easement.
"Here we have a site where we are committing to make room for the wetlands as the sea level rises as the climate changes. We're adapting with it," said Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project.
The rolling conservation easement allows the protection of wetlands even as erosion forces it to shift inland.
"We have seen the value of conservation easements for landowners, communities, and the environment," said Liz Friel, the executive director of CVC. "But we also realize that conservation easements need to evolve and adapt to the changing realities of sea level rise and coastal erosion. We are grateful to ERP for their generosity and leadership in donating their land for a rolling conservation easement."
Mary-Carson Stiff, the executive director of Wetlands Watch, shared similar sentiments, calling this type of easement "a smart and flexible way to forever protect our precious wetlands and shorelines."
This particular rolling easement will cover some land along Knitting Mill Creek on the Elizabeth River's Lafayette branch.
For three decades, the Elizabeth River Project has engaged in collaborative efforts to restore the river and bring brown pelicans, dolphins and seahorses back.
Despite these efforts, the organization notes the rising sea level is one of the largest issues facing the river. In the next 100 years, conservationists expect more than 80% of wetlands to drown.