As part of the Four Lakes of Chesapeake team’s efforts to share information about the community’s proposed design, we have enlisted expert consultants to provide their perspective on specific aspects of the project. This is the third of such interviews, and you can view the Q&A video here.
Casey Jensen is the founder and chief executive officer of Eco Cap, a Virginia-based ecological restoration and environmental consulting company. Jensen has nearly 20 years of experience in environmental conservation and has coordinated or advised on the state’s permitting of approximately 80 nutrient banks. He has worked on projects throughout the Hampton Roads region, as well as in central and southwestern Virginia.
Below is a conversation, lightly edited for clarity, regarding the planned conservation easement and nutrient bank in the proposed Four Lakes of Chesapeake community.
Question 1: What is a nutrient bank and how does it work
CJ: A nutrient bank is a reforested area that takes nutrient-rich loading land, such as golf courses and agricultural land, and reverts it back to a naturalized area that is a less intensive land use.
In this instance, the nutrient-rich golf course land will be reverted to a forested condition, which minimizes nutrients from leaching into the Chesapeake Bay and other local water resources. This land-use change allows the owner of the nutrient bank owner to create and sell nutrient credits to other developers, who must meet state stormwater management permit requirements for their projects.
A nutrient credit can only be sold and transferred once. Then it is retired from the nutrient bank. The use of nutrient credits helps facilitate smart development by maximizing space for permitted development projects while also meeting state water-quality requirements. The nutrient bank owner is required to comply with state requirements, and the monitoring is a 10-year process. This involves site visits by myself or other staff to make sure the installed species are developing in an appropriate manner.
Question 2: What is the purpose of the conservation easement?
CJ: The conservation easement is a mechanism to ensure green space is protected in perpetuity from any future development. The conservation easement is held by a third party nonprofit whose mission is to foster green space and protect the land from development. This arrangement provides an additional layer of protection. By placing a conservation easement on the property, this would ensure no additional development will take place on the covered green space. The nutrient bank provides protection for 10 years, and the conservation easement provides additional protection from development after that and in perpetuity.
Question 3: What will be planted to reforest the area?
CJ: Reforestation will primarily utilize Loblolly pine seedlings due to their fast-growing nature, and a naturalized understory will develop based upon the natural seed stock of the property. A 12- to 18-inch bare root seedling grows very rapidly and can grow to be almost 7 or 8 feet tall after three years. They’re fibrous, so when planted in sandy soil, they flex in storm conditions. This minimizes the chance of the seedlings snapping. Loblolly pines are also self-limbing, meaning the lower branches fall off as the tree grows upward. This minimizes maintenance and results in a Savannah Pine plantation visual aspect.
Question 4: What kind of maintenance will be performed, and will the area draw nuisance pests and other wildlife?
CJ: The purpose is to recreate a naturalized setting, so there is generally little maintenance to perform on the area. There will be a buffer in the form of a 6-foot-wide mowed area on either side of existing trails in the reforested area as well as a minimum 10-foot setback from adjacent property lines.
The intent is to replicate naturalized system. As the system ages, you may encounter some small animals such as reptiles and mammals, but as the system naturally progresses you will also see the reintroduction of birds of prey such as hawks, falcons, and eagles that prey on these small animals. This is part of the ecological cycle of succession in a naturalized area.
Question 5: Why should this reforested Green Space area be viewed as an asset?
CJ: As urban sprawl expands throughout Chesapeake, the reforested area will become a private green space for this community. Green spaces are going to be very important in the future, whether it be for wildlife, carbon sequestration, water quality, or general enjoyment by the residents of the community. There are so many intrinsic values associated with green spaces, and it is important to focus on the long-term benefits. Eagle Pointe used to have a golf course, and owners there were told the golf course would never be turned into residential houses. But you never know what’s going to happen with green space. The right person with the right amount of money and right amount of influence could say I want to turn this green space into a housing development. The conservation easement and nutrient bank will protect against that by maintaining green space in perpetuity. The real value is that residents will have their own personal green space that is not a public park.
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