Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 20 - MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION › Chapter 337 - SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION (SAV) TRANSPLANTATION GUIDELINES › Section 4VAC20-337-30 - Permitting

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Any removal of
				naturally occurring SAV from state bottom or planting of nursery stock SAV for
				any purpose, except as part of a prior-approved research or scientific
				investigation, shall require prior approval by the commission. In determining
				whether to grant approval for SAV removal or planting, the commission shall be
				guided by § 28.2-1205 of the Code of Virginia and this chapter, or any new
				and improved methodologies as approved by the commission. Permits will be valid
				for a period of three years, but may be revoked upon a finding by the
				commission that the permittee failed to meet the monitoring and/or reporting
				requirements, or deviated from the specific activities authorized by permit.
				Permit fees and royalties shall be assessed in accordance with § 28.2-1206
				of the Code of Virginia. Extraction of plants for commercial resale purposes is
				prohibited. Out-of-state and out-of-watershed transfers will be critically
				evaluated.
B. Any request to remove
				SAV from or plant SAV upon state bottom shall be accompanied by a completed
				Joint Permit Application (JPA), submitted to the Commission, that must include
				specific information that is critical to properly evaluate the probabilities of
				transplantation success while minimizing impacts to established donor bed
				populations. This information also allows scientists and regulators to track
				the progress of various projects and learn from previous projects which methods
				and sites are promising for further restoration or enhancement efforts. The
				specific information required will include the following:
1. Project specifics. Applicants for
				collections of wild stock SAV for transplanting should include a description of
				the purpose of the activity. This includes a classification of the activity as
				a research project, educational or environmental organization restoration
				project, or mitigation project for permitted SAV impacts. The exact location of
				the donor and transplant site(s) should be indicated on a chart or map,
				including latitude and longitude. The species and quantities of plants to be
				collected and/or transplanted should be reported, as well as the methods
				planned for collection, transport and transplanting. Detailed criteria for each
				of these issues are included in the next sections.
2. Site selection. To evaluate the
				suitability of the proposed site, factors should be considered as follows:
a. Site should be within salinity range for
				the species to be transplanted.
b.
				Site should historically have supported SAV as evidence through historical
				photographs, surveys, or other sources of information.
c. Planting depths should be limited to
				shallow waters. A depth range of 0.75 meters to one meter (MLW) is recommended
				for eelgrass and shallower for other species. No plantings will be authorized
				in the intertidal zone.
d.
				Sediments should be sandy with a lower silt/clay content (less than 5.0%
				organics). Resuspension resulting in reduced light levels is less likely with
				sandy sediments. However, in protected areas SAV has been found to survive well
				in muddier substrates.
e. Currents
				should be less than 30 cm/sec, as transplants are vulnerable to being uprooted
				for several days until roots and rhizomes begin to grow and anchor the plant.
				Sites that are protected from large waves are more likely to become
				established.
f. Any exclosure or
				other protective structure proposed must be described in detail with
				accompanying sketches and notes.
g.
				Applicants should be able to demonstrate that a site is likely to succeed. This
				can be done through the reporting of the success of past plantings at the area,
				by the presence of natural grassbeds within 500 meters of the site, or by test
				plot survival for one year. If the proposed site has never been planted and is
				far from existing beds, collections and transplantings may be limited to small
				scale test plots until success can be demonstrated. If plants survive beyond
				one year, larger transplanting efforts could be considered by the commission.
				It is important to note that the purpose of requiring test plots for transplant
				projects is to protect natural beds from net losses in case the transplant site
				is unsuitable for SAV survival. However, if the source material for a project
				is from a nursery or a source other than natural donor bed collections, the
				risk to existing beds is removed and restoration may be considered for larger
				scale projects even if initial test plots survival is poor (i.e., less than
				50%).
h. Removal of SAV from, or
				planting or transplanting of SAV to, areas of privately leased oyster planting
				ground will not be authorized without the express written consent of the
				leaseholder.
3.
				Transplanting: source, technique and timing. To reduce the impacts on natural
				beds of SAV, plants for restoration projects should be obtained from aquatic
				nursery or greenhouse stock if at all possible. Currently, there are several
				nursery-grown sources of freshwater species in the Chesapeake region. However,
				if wild stock collections from natural donor beds are required (such as with
				eelgrass), criteria should be met as follows:
a. The donor beds should be a density class
				of "3" or "4" according to latest VIMS aerial survey, and should be from larger
				beds so that the amount of grass removed from a bed relative to total bed size
				is minimized. Care should be taken to minimize secondary effects of removal
				(e.g., trampling, propeller scarring).
b. Donor beds should be of similar salinity
				to the transplant site.
c. Plants
				should be removed by hand. However, excavation by shovel is permissible
				provided each hole is separated by at least one meter. By counting the number
				of plants/shovel, an estimate can be obtained of the effort required to collect
				the number of plants needed for the project. Plant collections should try to
				minimize the amount of material removed from a bed while still ensuring that
				enough plants are collected to complete the project.
d. Plantings should occur within 48 hours of
				collection, but preferably within 24 hours as plants lose vigor
				quickly.
e. For eelgrass (Zostera
				marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), collections should be conducted
				between September 15 and November 30, but preferably between October 1 and
				October 30.
f. For freshwater SAV
				species, collections should occur between mid to late April and late
				June.
g. Until a transplant site
				has been demonstrated to be successful, plantings should be restricted during
				the first year to small-scale test plots. Test plots should be approximately
				two meters by two meters in size and shall be based on the scope of the
				individual project with a minimum number of three test plots per site. The
				methods, number of plants/plot, and spacing used in the test plots will vary
				depending on species but should be the same methods and spacings used for
				larger transplant efforts.
4. Monitoring. Monitoring of the plot(s) will
				enable the success of the transplanted test plot(s) and long-term adequacy of
				the site(s) for additional future restoration efforts to be evaluated. At a
				minimum, monitoring shall occur and include the information as follows:
a. An initial site visit should be conducted
				between one week to one month following transplanting to evaluate the success
				of the planting process. For eelgrass plantings, additional site visits should
				occur in April, May, or early June, and again in September or October of the
				following year to assess survival and growth. For freshwater SAV, additional
				monitoring should occur in mid to late summer.
b. Monitoring information required includes:
				the number of planting units present, shoot density counts, percent cover and
				aerial extent, or other appropriate relative measure of abundance, of each
				plot, and should be recorded during each site visit during the monitoring
				period. Additional information should include whether new shoots or flowers
				have been produced, and any other relevant field observations that may help
				explain any potential failures (grazing by rays, waterfowl, severe storm
				events, etc.).
c. If after one full
				year plants persist (i.e. greater than 50% of the initial plantings have
				survived and grown), the site can be considered acceptable for a second year
				application of transplanting on a larger scale. If few plants survive the first
				year, larger scale transplantings should be discouraged. However, additional
				test plots may be permitted.
d. For
				successful sites, additional monitoring will be required once during the
				growing season for a minimum of two years past the time of initial
				planting.
e. Monitoring reports
				must be submitted to the commission annually by December 31 so that the
				monitoring information may be disseminated to and reviewed by VIMS and all
				other interested parties. Failure to report as required may result in permit
				revocation by the commission.