Using funding from NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program began working with individuals from county agencies who work toward protecting coastal resources. The group decided to start promoting ecotourism as a way to bring in additional revenue, rather than risking the asset be lost to development in the future. After participating in Social Science Basics for Coastal Managers—a NOAA Digital Coast training offered through the Chesapeake Bay-Virginia National Estuarine Research Reserve—the program’s coastal planner employed some of the skills learned from the training for engaging interested stakeholder groups.

Follow the link below to access this Peer to Peer case study as published in Digital Coast by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management.

Promoting Ecotourism to Conserve a Watershed in Virginia »