RON WOLFF FORUM AT CAPTAIN'S COVE MARINA APRIL 15
Ron Wolff, Accomack County District 2 Rep, will have his monthly forum at Capatin's Cove Marina at 7 PM on Monday April 15. Invited guests include Lynwood Lewis, State Delegate. PUBLIC INVITED. Address for Cove Marina is 3323 Dock Court, Greenbackville, VA 23356. Phone 757.824.3465, x161 for Restaurant and 757.824.3465, x163 for Marina Receptionist.
April 02, 2013 | Permalink
You can find the just-released U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Planning Newsletter August 2012 here:
August 24, 2012 | Permalink
Chincoteague Beacon
June 28, 2012
Town Council members to be sworn in
By Malissa Watterson
Staff Writer
CHINCOTEAGUE -- Three newly elected Town Council members will take office on July 1.
Arthur Leonard, Gene Taylor and incumbent John N. Jester begin their four-year terms with the local government office. Jester will serve his second term on the council.
Voters selected Leonard (615 votes), Taylor (543) and Jester (453) at the polls in early May.
"I want to keep open communication with the county and the wildlife refuge so we can work on some major problems," said Taylor about his future plans as a council member.
The major problem is especially deciding on an alternative solution to restore and protect beach parking on Assateague Island, he says.
Taylor also wants to support local businesses during his term.
"I want to keep (business) restrictions to a minimum and entice people to come to Chincoteague," Taylor said.
Jester's approach to the parking issue is continuos communication with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and requesting that the federal agency "take more measures to mitigate damages to the beach."
During his first term, Jester served as the chairman to the recreation and community enhancement committee, a group that is working toward improving the look of downtown.
The committee is involved with multiple phases of a downtown revitalization project, which includes laying down brick pavers on the east side of Main Street.
"We want to keep downtown a vibrant place that draws people to the downtown area," Jester said.
This term Jester wants to continue work with the committee, as well as help improve local parks by properly maintaining equipment and working with groups who sponsor park programs like the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance.
As a first-time council member, Leonard hopes to be a "helping hand" with future town projects.
Those projects include increasing the number of youth-centered programs at the town community center and working to improve town parks. Leonard also wants to further increase the number of bike paths on the island.
"More and more people are riding bikes and these roads weren't built for bikes," he said.
For more information on the Town Council, contact the town office at 757-336-3155.
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Reprinted with permission of Chincoteague Beacon.
June 28, 2012 in Chincoteague Town Council | Permalink
ANNOUNCEMENT: Ron Wolff Forum at Captain's Cove Marina on April 16
On April 16 at 7 PM, Ron Wolff, Accomack County Board of Supervisors District 2 rep, will have his town hall forum at the Marina at Captain's Cove located in Greenbackville, VA. Planned guests include Lynwood Lewis, State Delegate, and Ralph Northam, State Senator. It is also planned to have Bill Wrobel, NASA director at Wallops Flight Facility. The Marina restaurant will be opened this evening for the convenience of attendees. PUBLIC INVITED.
April 07, 2012 | Permalink
TESTIMONY OF WENDI WEBER, NORTHEAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, OCEANS AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, REGARDING THE PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLAN FOR THE CHINCOTEAGUE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
FEBRUARY 17, 2012
Good morning Chairman Fleming and Members of the Subcommittee, I am Wendi Weber,
Northeast Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Thank you for the opportunity to testify about one of the most popular units of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) � Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, located on Assateague Island on the coast of Virginia.
My statement below describes the Service�s developing comprehensive conservation plan for the refuge, and how we are approaching future management given the effects of environmental change to this very dynamic barrier island ecosystem. Our goal is to manage the refuge in a way that ensures: (1) its conservation purpose is achieved and maintained over the long term; (2) the public continues to have reasonable, appropriate, and compatible access; and (3) we make responsible decisions about how we utilize taxpayer dollars. In making our management decisions we also recognize the important role of the refuge for local communities.
Background
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1943 for the protection and management of migratory birds, especially migrating and wintering waterfowl. Wildlife abounds at Chincoteague. Its barrier beaches, wetlands, and maritime forests provide habitat for more than 320 different species. The refuge is considered a birding hot spot by the Audubon Society and has been designated a globally important bird area by the American Bird Conservancy. The refuge supports Delmarva fox squirrel, piping plover, Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, and seabeach amaranth, all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Chincoteague is one of the most visited national wildlife refuges in the nation. It draws as many as 1.4 million visitors each year, and this influx of people is enormously important to the local tourism economy. The refuge sits adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore, managed by the National Parks Service (NPS). To help accommodate visitors to the refuge, the NPS, through a Memorandum of Understanding, manages public use along a one mile portion of the barrier beach at Tom�s Cove. The NPS maintains a visitor contact station, restrooms, bathhouses, showers, pedestrian trails, and a lifeguard-protected swimming beach.
Assateague Island, like all coastal barrier islands, is composed of unstable sediments that are vulnerable to storm damage and chronic erosion from wind and waves. Assateague Island is located at the interface of land and sea and serves as a first line of defense against the strong winds, huge waves, and powerful storm surges that accompany nor�easters and hurricanes. The exposure to wind, wave, and tidal energy keeps this coastal barrier in a state of constant flux, losing sand in some places and gaining it in others. The current recreational beach and facilities of the refuge are located in one of the most dynamic areas of the island, which places them under constant threat of damage from flooding and erosion. The effects from environmental change on national wildlife refuges are not isolated to Chincoteague. The effects are being realized all along the Atlantic Coastline, including, for example, at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, and Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge.
Over the years, storms and their accompanying extreme high tides have repeatedly washed out the recreational beach parking lots at the refuge. The Service and NPS have relocated the beach parking lots further to the west as they have been washed out. For example, the parking lots shown in the attached photo from 1990 (Exhibit A) were repeatedly overwhelmed by strong storms throughout the 1990s. They have since been relocated. Exhibit B shows the location of the current shoreline in relation to the parking lots from the 1990s. As you can see, those parking areas are now completely underwater.
In the early 1990s, the Service developed a Master Plan for the refuge that is comparable to the comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) being developed today. At that time, as today, the beach parking lots were a major issue and the Service foresaw the eventual total loss of the land base where these parking lots are presently located. Anticipated and predicted loss of beach parking was addressed in the Master Plan as follows:
"[The Service will] continue private vehicle beach access as long as beach parking areas remain, and allow the National Park Service to maintain the existing number of parking spaces (961) as long as the land base directly behind the dunes remains, realizing that this area will eventually be lost due to the natural movement of the barrier island. As natural forces reduce the land base capable of supporting the current parking, the number of spaces will be reduced accordingly. As spaces are lost, an alternative means of transportation such as a shuttle system will need to be used in order to maintain beach use."
During the 20 years since the Master Plan was finalized, annual storm events and wave action impacted the man-made dune system between the parking lots and ocean. In the mid 1990s the NPS removed the dune system, which was restricting the growth of the beach and causing the swimming beach to become narrower. A rising ocean and coastal storms have contributed to the loss of parking lot areas and beach. The parking lots built as replacements have been repeatedly destroyed and the government has expended considerable funding to rebuild parking lots only to see them damaged again.
In 2009, the parking lots were totally destroyed by a November nor�easter and the area repeatedly over-washed that winter, preventing the NPS from rebuilding the parking lots until the spring. In 2011, Hurricane Irene totally destroyed the parking lots again, and they will be rebuilt again this spring. Repairing these parking lots costs taxpayers between $200,000 and $700,000 per event.
Continuing to invest in rebuilding parking lots in the same location only to watch them be destroyed and washed away raises a number of important questions, including: Is this good public policy and a responsible use of federal funds? Are these investments sustainable? Is there a better way to provide recreational beach opportunities to the public that is both fiscally-sound and provides longer-term viability? These are key questions that the Service has posed to the public and hopes to address through the current comprehensive conservation planning process for the refuge. We are confident that we can provide visitors with recreational beach access and provide sound public policy in the use of appropriated operational funding. It is our duty as public servants to be fiscally responsible in the management of these important conservation and wildlife areas.
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires the Service to develop a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) for each unit of the Refuge System by October 9, 2012. Each CCP is intended to describe desired future conditions of a refuge; provide long-range guidance and management direction to achieve the conservation purposes of the refuge, refuge policy requirements, and the mission of the Refuge System; and support compatible wildlife-dependent public uses on the refuge.
Beach parking and public access, and how they are affected by sea level rise and erosion, are some of the most important management issues being addressed in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge CCP. In addition, the CCP is being developed through an open and transparent public process that provides extensive opportunity for input from the local community and the American public.
In 2010, the Service began a scoping process to gather public input and identify key issues and concerns to consider at the refuge as part of the CCP process. Since then, the Service has held nine public meetings or open houses. We also held four workshops with our state and municipal government agency partners, as well as other federal agencies. These included: April 2011, when we jointly developed CCP vision and goals; June 2011, when we jointly developed alternatives; and, December 2011, when we met to refine alternatives and resolve outstanding issues. Three planning update newsletters that requested public input and comments were published on the refuge�s website. Refuge staff have given dozens of presentations to community groups, hosted tours, and given interviews to keep the public informed and to solicit public input throughout the CCP process. The opportunities for public input to help shape the refuge�s CCP have been numerous, and we are committed to maintaining an open and transparent process as we move forward.
At the current stage in the process, we have not yet finalized a draft CCP, nor identified a preferred alternative. However, in August 2011, we released four potential alternatives for public consideration. These alternatives present different management scenarios that could be implemented to meet the purposes of the refuge. While it is unusual for the Service to seek public comment prior to development of a preferred alternative and draft CCP, we decided to do so because we anticipated an unusually high level of interest from the public.
In December 2011, the Service met with representatives from the town of Chincoteague, Accomack County, the National Park Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA�s Wallops Flight Facility is located nearby at Wallops Island), the State of Virginia, the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, and Volpe Transportation Center to review the comments received to date regarding the initial draft alternatives. As a group we revised the alternatives. We are now considering three alternatives, which are outlined in more detail in an addendum to this statement. Common parts of all three draft alternatives are: a recreational beach, parking adjacent to the beach, off-site parking to supplement adjacent beach parking and to serve as emergency back-up parking, and an alternative transportation system.
These three alternatives will be included in the forthcoming draft CCP and environmental impact statement, which the Service plans to release for public review and comment this year. The final CCP should be complete in the summer of 2013.
Offsite Parking and Alternative Transportation
Throughout the ongoing CCP process, and consistent with the direction given in the refuge�s original Master Plan, the Service has pursued the acquisition of offsite parking at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Offsite parking will ensure continued access to the refuge for the visiting public in case of short-term parking lot washout events, as well as potentially long-term flooding from sea level rise and inundation.
Regardless of the alternative selected in the CCP process, the Service believes it is prudent to provide offsite parking at the refuge in case the current beach parking is completely destroyed by an intense storm. This scenario was realized just before the busy 2011 Labor Day holiday, when Hurricane Irene swept up the coast of Virginia the week before one of the busiest tourist days of the year. While Service and NPS staff worked tirelessly to restore as much parking as possible, only one-third (350 spaces) of the parking could be restored in time for the holiday. Thankfully, a local non-profit group scrambled to create a shuttle system for visitors. Providing parking for these emergency situations is a priority for the Refuge.
To address the long-term sustainability of parking as well as emergency needs, in the 1990s the Service attempted to negotiate the purchase of 200 acres of land owned by the Maddox family in the town of Chincoteague near the refuge�s entrance. While that effort was unsuccessful, the refuge has maintained its interest in purchasing this land since that time.
In 2008 and 2009, the Service, with the Assateague Island National Seashore, the town of Chincoteague, and Accomack County, worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation�s Volpe Center on an alternative transportation study at the refuge. The study objectively analyzed different ways to address transportation-related problems, including beach access, traffic, and parking. Key planning documents for the town of Chincoteague and Accomack County specify similar transportation planning objectives, such as reducing traffic congestion, facilitating forming and operating alternative transportation, and improving emergency management and transportation safety.
Independent of, but coincidental to, the ongoing development of the refuge�s CCP, in 2010 the Maddox family approached the Service to express their interest in selling the property. The Service recognized the need to move quickly to take advantage of the important opportunity. Based upon the analysis in the alternative transportation study, and the direction given in the refuge�s 1992 Master Plan, the Service entered into an agreement to purchase the property in May 2011. Also in May 2011, the Service applied for a Federal Transportation Administration Sarbanes Transit in the Parks grant to help fund acquisition of a portion of the land. The Federal Transportation Administration announced an award for $1.5 million toward purchase of the property on January 17, 2012. The Service has applied for additional grants to help secure the total cost of $7.5 million for the property.
Although the Service considered acquisition of the Maddox family property in the 1992 Master Plan, the Service believes additional review of the acquisition is appropriate under the National Environmental Policy Act. Acquiring this land was not initially intended to be part of the CCP process; however, the Service will evaluate acquisition of offsite parking with the environmental impact statement for the CCP.
Conclusion
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remains committed to an open and transparent public process as we continue to develop the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge CCP. We will continue to have a healthy dialogue with the public about the future management of the refuge, and be responsive to the needs and interests of the local community.
As we continue our discussions with the public, we believe it will become even more apparent that the Service and the local community share the same values � conservation of the species and habitat at Chincoteague, safe and sustainable public recreational opportunities, and a vibrant and healthy local economy. As the refuge and the community are impacted by sea level rise, beach erosion, and the effects of continued storm damage, it is imperative that we work closely together to plan for the continued management of the refuge, for the benefit of both wildlife and people.
February 17, 2012 | Permalink
HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, OCEANS AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
February 17, 2012
Testimony of Wanda J. Thornton
Accomack County Board of Supervisors
Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee:
Good morning. My name is Wanda Thornton and I serve as a member of the Accomack County Board of County Supervisors. My district is the Island District, which includes Chincoteague and Assateague Island in Virginia.
I am here to day to talk to you about jobs and the apparent willingness of the Obama Administration and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to destroy hundreds of businesses and jobs in our community.
Our Island is seven miles long and 2 miles wide and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns 540 acres within our town limits and plan to purchase an additional 200 acres of business property . This business property generated significant revenue and jobs for our town and the county. This past Monday, the Refuge Manager, Lou Hines told our elected officials that he would purchase more land from any willing sellers in our town. This needs to stop.
I own a campground on Chincoteague and I have met visitors from all over the world who come to Chincoteague to fish, explore and go to the beach on Assateague Island, which is over a short causeway from Chincoteague Island.
We know these families, many of whom have visited our region for decades. We talk to them about their experiences and what they like and dislike about our beaches and our region�s amenities.
I, along with my fellow elected officials and the business community, have shared what we�ve learned with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and in particular, Lou Hinds, the Refuge Manager who is responsible for developing the CCP.
I have participated in previous CCPs at the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge. I have to say that the process we are going through now is by far the most divisive and infuriating process I have encountered in my more than twenty years of public service.
You will hear from the government that they have bent over backwards to hold public meetings and have invited stakeholders to meet on many occasions. This is true.
But what is also true is that our concerns have been ignored, we have been lied to, we have been told that no matter what we say the refuge manager has 51% of the vote, and this process underway at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge holds the opinions of the local population in contempt.
People in the Town of Chincoteague are fearful for their jobs, they are fearful that their investments in local businesses or restaurants may be wiped out because a local refuge manager wants to shut down the current ocean-accessible beach and force tourists to ride into the refuge on a mass transit shuttle.
You may hear the witness from the Fish and Wildlife Service discuss plan to move the recreational beach further to the north from the current beach. This plan would require the destruction of more than ten acres of wetlands and negatively impacts the habitat of the Delmarva fox squirrel, an animal on the endangered species list. How exactly will the Fish and Wildlife Service get the approval from other federal government agencies to destroy these wetlands to create a parking lot when these same agencies protest decisions to impact wetlands throughout our region of the country? Furthermore, our country is trillions of dollars in debt; where will the Fish and Wildlife Service get the millions of dollars it will take to implement this irresponsible plan?
You can easily see how we become skeptical of the Fish and Wildlife Service�s claim that they are going to move the beach parking lot as they propose in Alternative B, which is their preferred alternative. Their real plan is to develop a transit parking lot, then claim they cannot build the new beach parking lot because of environmental and budget concerns. That leaves the Town right where the Refuge Manager wanted to go all along: Parking outside of the refuge and the permanent loss of beach parking.
We have asked our visitors what they think of this idea and more than 80% of them said they would not come back to Chincoteague if they were forced to use mass transit to get to the beach. They like being able to drive to the beach parking lot where they can easily unload their beach gear and spend the day with their family. Loading a family�s beach gear onto a trolley is not an experience our visitors will sign up for. There are many other options and they just won�t come to Chincoteague.
The Refuge Manager and the people at the Fish and Wildlife Service know all of this and they evidently don�t care. They just secured a 1.5 million dollar grant from the Sarbanes Transit in Parks program to purchase property in the Town limits to develop a transit parking lot. We have made our objections to this purchase crystal clear. Accomack County opposes moving the parking off the refuge. The Town, State Tourism Commission, the Office of the Governor of Virginia and the Virginia House of Delegates have all gone on the record and made it clear that we oppose the Refuge�s plan to purchase property in the Town limits.
Our country has a trillion dollar per year deficit but the Feds are going to buy a piece of property against the wishes of the local population for a service nobody wants to use. It�s easy to see why so many Americans have lost faith in their federal government.
We are here today to ask you to help us stop this reckless agenda:
� We would like the Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately state that they are no longer planning to purchase property in our Town limits and abandon their plan to do so.
� We would like them to work with us to preserve the current beach parking system which has been in place over the past five decades. There is nothing wrong with the current system that can�t easily be fixed.
� We would like them to stop proposing to thin the pony herd on the Refuge.
� We would like them to develop a cost-sharing plan for repairing the beach parking lot and stop using the modest amounts it takes to repair the beach parking lot as a red-herring for their argument to abandon the beach.
And finally, we would like the Fish and Wildlife Service to become true partners in the effort to bolster the local economy while preserving the unique habitat that exists on Assateague Island. I know it can be done because it has been done for the last fifty years. The plans contemplated today by the Fish and Wildlife Service are draconian and unnecessary, will destroy hundreds of jobs and threatens the very existence of Chincoteague, Virginia.
Thank you again for your time and thoughtful consideration.
February 17, 2012 | Permalink
Statement of The Hon. John H. Tarr
Mayor, Town of Chincoteague, Virginia
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
My name is Jack Tarr and I am the Mayor of the Town of Chincoteague. On behalf of our full time residents and seasonal visitors, I thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR) and the planning process that is underway and its impacts on our Town.
I also want to single out for special thanks Representative Scott Rigell and his staff who have been our champion here in Washington and has stood by us during this process.
If I may Mr. Chairman, please let me give you a brief history for how we got to this point�
The Town of Chincoteague has a 50 year history of support for the Refuge and the Assateague Island National Seashore. Our Town has worked hard to build an international reputation for the Chincoteague wild ponies, and a gateway community that supports over 1.5 million visitors to the Refuge each year.
The Virginia portion of Assateague Island is a Wildlife Refuge inside a National Seashore Park. This is different than any other Wildlife Refuge in the country, but the proposed CCP doesn�t even recognize public beach recreation at all.
The CCP should address the relationship or agreement that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has with the National Park Service. The question of who is tasked with managing and maintaining the recreational beach is very important.
The Chincoteague Bridge and Beach Authority build the first bridge and roadway system to the Beach in the 1962 with the blessing of Congress to promote economic development on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
These valuable public assets were sold to the National Park Service in 1966 to operate and maintain over 4 miles of seashore at the south end of Assateague Island as a public recreational beach.
I am here today to tell you that I feel we are being railroaded into less or no parking at the Beach, and forced to ride a trolley system in the future. Before the CCP process, US FWS began an Alternative Transportation Study that the community thought was to promote walking trails and bicycling.
I remember the first slide that Refuge Manager Lou Hinds presented that day. A crowded roadway going to the Beach, and his comment was �the American People have become too dependent on their vehicles.�
The Volpe Transportation Center was the contractor that put together the Alternative Transportation Plan, and now is the contractor selected to prepare the CCP and Environmental Impact Statement. We know why � it�s all about public transportation.
With the grant application award of 1.5 million dollars for a �park and ride� facility on Chincoteague Island, how can we trust anything in the CCP process?
Based on the ideas presented by Refuge Manager Lou Hinds during the last 2 years, the Town of Chincoteague completed a questionnaire of our visitors in 2010 that indicated these changes would have a dramatic negative effect on our economy.
Over 82% indicated they would not return if a transit shuttle replaced convenient beach parking. In response to the CCP proposals, the Town Council has resolved:
� No expansion of the Refuge or Seashore should occur on Chincoteague Island
� No transit shuttle system should be proposed that reduces convenient beach parking at the Seashore to less than 1,000 existing spaces
� Alternative B to relocate the recreational beach cannot be supported at this time.
� The CCP should include an alternative C that allows the recreational beach to remain at Toms Cove by maintaining or restoring the �land base� (123 Common Sense Plan)
� The CCP should include alternatives that continue the current exceptional visitor experience for another 15 years (150 ponies, 360 degree beach experience, 1000 car parking are examples)
� The CCP should include beach nourishment or other methods to restore the sheltering effect of the barrier island.
You have asked about my opinion of the four proposed alternatives in the CCP. We have been informed by Refuge staff that this may now be three choices because they would like to eliminate alternative C.
I think that the CCP should have looked at what has been working for the past 20 years under the old Master Plan. This is the one we have built our community around. Unfortunately, alternative A except that the �status quo� option is never selected. We need to address how we can improve on that.
The problem is that every time we suggest how the plan that provides 1.5 million visitors a year and the #1 Beach Town in 2011 could be improved we are told that it is �against our policy�.
1. Sand fencing to prevent beach erosion � �against our policy�
2. Christmas Trees to prevent beach erosion � �against our policy�
3. Dune maintenance and planting � �against our policy�
4. Beach nourishment � �against our policy�
The 7.5 million dollars that is proposed for a mass transit parking lot would go a long way to take care of the visitor facilities that we already have.
Fifty years of experience and public trust should not be abandoned in a rush to change everything and still meet a 2012 CCP deadline.
Mr. Chairman, the Town of Chincoteague is under siege by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Their policy of implementing transit in parks and purchasing property in our town limits � both ideas that we oppose because they are completely unnecessary - is one that will kill jobs, crush investment and create economic uncertainty in our Town.
We are here to ask this Committee to exercise its oversight capabilities and help put a stop to the massive over-reach of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
February 17, 2012 | Permalink
The one hour and 45 minute hearing is concluded.
You can find copies of the prepared statements of the witnesses listed below here:
http://naturalresources.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=278981
The archived webcast of the hearing should also be available there shortly.
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Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs Oversight Hearing on "Fish and Wildlife Service’s Proposed Comprehensive Conservation Plan and its Potential Devastating Impact on the Economy of the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia"
Friday, February 17, 2012 9:30 AM
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE, OCEANS AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Friday, February 17, 2012
9:30 a.m.
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON:
"Fish and Wildlife Service’s Proposed Comprehensive Conservation Plan and its Potential Devastating Impact on the Economy of the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia"
OPENING STATEMENTS:
The Honorable John Fleming
Chairman
The Honorable Scott Rigell
Member of Congress
WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:
Panel I
Wendi Weber
Regional Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Honorable Jack Tarr
Mayor
Town of Chincoteague
The Honorable Wanda Thornton
Member
Accomack County Board of Supervisors
Nancy Payne
Chincoteague, VA
Scott Chesson
Owner
Best Western Plus Chincoteague Island
February 17, 2012 | Permalink
On Friday, February 17, at 9:30 a.m. the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs will hold a hearing on "Fish and Wildlife Service�s Proposed Comprehensive Conservation Plan and its Potential Devastating Impact on the Economy of the Town of Chincoteague, Virginia".
You may listen to and view this hearing by opening these links:
http://naturalresources.house.gov/Calendar/
http://naturalresources.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=278981
The link is supposed to go live ten minutes before the hearing begins.
Those scheduled to testify during the hearing include:
February 16, 2012 | Permalink
Mayor Jack Tarr is unapposed.
Incumbent town council members Nancy Conklin and John Henry Howard are retiring.
Incumbent council member John Nelson Jester Jr. is running for reelection
New candidates for council are James T. "Jim" Frese, J. Arthur Leonard, Barbara Kolinsky Milyko, Gene Wayne Taylor, Deborah A. Ullmann, and Lori S. Walton.
At least two new members will be elected.
February 09, 2012 in Chincoteague Town Council | Permalink
