The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the City of Virginia Beach, Va., recently completed a land exchange that has allowed for road safety and other improvements along Sandbridge Road and at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, according to Jared Brandwein, refuge manager.
"The land exchange has allowed the City to realign Sandbridge Road to remedy safety issues and the Service to improve public access and other conditions at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Its the culmination of more than two years of working together with our counterparts at the City for the benefit of the residents of Virginia Beach and visitors to the Refuge," said Brandwein.
Virginia Beach Chief Operating Officer Charlie Meyer said, "This land exchange demonstrates how the federal and local governments can work together to achieve common goals that benefit our community. It has been a pleasure to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on this innovative project.?
The Service granted the City of Virginia Beach a drainage easement on 1.25 acres, a right-of-way totaling about one-half acre, and a one-third acre power line easement that allowed the City to straighten dangerous sections of Sandbridge Road.
The Service also granted ownership of just over one acre of refuge lands underlying two canals at the north end of the refuge adjacent to lots fronting Widgeon Lane. In addition, the Service conveyed to the City more than seven acres of bay bottom and canal-front lands from Sand Bend Road north to Bluegill Inlet along the easterly shore of the Back Bay. City ownership of these areas will result in fewer land use restrictions on adjacent property owners.
The Service in exchange has received from the City a 1.24-acre portion of the Little Park parcel, located adjacent to the refuge at the end of Sandpiper Road. By owning this land, the Service will now be able to reconfigure the road entering the Refuge to improve access and public safety.
Located in the southeastern corner of Virginia, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 to provide habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl, particularly greater snow geese. The Refuges 9,100 acres provide important coastal habitat for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species such as loggerhead sea turtles and piping plovers, and other native plants and animals.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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