Background information:
Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach, Virginia is a 118 acre piece of property that has been recently acquired by Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The property is made up of maritime forests, two manmade ponds, sandy beach areas, tidal marshes, and estuary habitats. Pleasure House Point is unique and highly valuable because it is a rare natural area among the substantially more prevalent urbanized areas of coastal Virginia. The property is also an essential stop over location for migrating birds due the property’s location between two extremely important areas of habitat along the northern Atlantic fly way, Virginia’s Eastern Shore and North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

The near shore waters of the property are known to be visited by the federal and state listed endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochylis kempii) and West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), and by the state listed threatened Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta). The federally listed Species of Concern Diamond Backed Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) has been found to nest on the property. Additionally, the federal and state listed endangered Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli), and the state listed threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus eucocephalus), have been found to occupy the property at some point in time during the year.

Even though there is some understanding of what species utilize the property a more involved and comprehensive inventory is necessary for the planning of projects and the management of the land. This property is under a conservation easement and will be managed as a natural area. There are several intended projects for the property including: an oyster bed restoration project, a wetland restoration project, construction of a kayak/canoe ramp, and habitat enhancement by the removal and management of nonnative invasive plant species.

Bio Blitz Goals:
The major goal of this Bio Blitz is to determine what species are on the property and where these species are located on the property. It will be important to determine whether each species is native or nonnative as well as the conservation status of each species. With this information maps will be created, plans will be revised to reduce disturbances and maximize habitats for species of concern whenever possible, and overall more educated decisions and planning can occur. less ↑