ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. -- The erosion of Cedar Island has caught the attention of marine scientists. So much so, there are now plans in the works to restore the marshlands surrounding the island.
Cedar Island, along with the other 13 barrier island's up and down the coastline of Virginia's Eastern Shore, play a pivotal role in protecting the mainland during hard-hitting storms.
Protecting the fragile coastal environment will mean protecting the Eastern Shore.
Mike Mason, the Accomack County Administrator, said it's one reason why restoring the marsh around one of the most rapidly-declining barrier islands was so attractive for county leaders.
"They are a buffer between the Atlantic Ocean and the mainland," said Mason. "So it's our hope that this project is successful and helps provide a buffer and keep that buffer and protects our mainland towns and our way of life here."
Christopher Hein with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, or VIMS, said as marsh grasses have disappeared over the years, it's opened the door for the powerful tide of the Atlantic.
"That is going to accelerate erosion of those marshes, it's going to alter the habitat of the lagoon that they're trying to plan seagrasses in now," said Hein.
So VIMS wants to rebuild part of that island, and they're focusing on the southern tip.
"You build up the marsh behind the island, that widens the island and it provides a little platform," said Hein. "If that island starts to migrate it lands up on top of that marsh."
Accomack County's support was crucial for the permitting process to help get this project underway. The joint-application, which will involve VIMS, Accomack County, Stantec, Randolph-Macon College, George Washington University and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources will be submitted towards the end of the summer.
The good news for Accomack County: they won't have to pay a dime.
"We're referred to as a no risk applicant so we're not really adding labor to this project," said Mason. "There's no cost being incurred by the county, we're just trying to help this project along."
The project is estimated to cost between $15 and $20 million. Project leaders hope construction can get underway sometime in 2025.
