Lower Chickahominy
Land & Water Use in the Study Area
Development Patterns & Population
Continued urbanization is expected in the Lower Chickahominy area, especially in James City and New Kent Counties. From 2010 to 2017, James City County has experienced an estimated 13.2% population increase and New Kent has experienced an estimated 21.9% population increase according to data from UVA's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. The Weldon Cooper Center predicts that by 2020 the populations of James City and New Kent will grow by an additional 34% and 37% respectively.
Drinking Water
In much of the Lower Chickahominy, residents and businesses rely on groundwater for drinking water through either individual wells or small public or private systems. In contrast, many residents and businesses to the east served by the Newport News Waterworks, including portions of James City County, rely on the natural setting of the Lower Chickahominy area as a drinking water source. Three reservoirs exist in the Lower Chickahominy area:
- Chickahominy Lake - Walkers Dam stretches across the Chickahominy River between Charles City and New Kent Counties creating Chickahominy Lake. Abundant cypress trees and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) provide excellent habitats for fish aquatic organisms; they are one of the reasons for the consistently good fishing at this lake.
- Diascund Reservoir - Located along the New Kent and James City County line, this 1,110-acre reservoir offers recreational opportunities for paddlers and anglers via the public boat ramp at Diascund Reservoir Park in James City County.
- Little Creek Reservoir - Located in James City County, this nearly 1,000-acre reservoir can be accessed via Little Creek Reservoir Park. Visitors can fish, hike, picnic, paddle, and enjoy the playground.
Conserved Land & Conservation Easements
Conserved Land
Lands maintained in a natural state protect water quality and natural heritage resources by filtering pollution and providing habitat. Land and water area is included in this category due to ownership associated with limiting development. There are lands across the Lower Chickahominy area that are conserved from development due to public ownership. Some conserved land is owned by non-profit conservation organizations. A few highlights about conserved land in the Lower Chickahominy include:
- Over 58,000 acres of land and water are conserved due to ownership
- Wildlife Management Areas include more than 8,000 acres.
- The 1,193 acres of Cumberland Marsh Natural Area Preserve in New Kent County along the Pamunkey River are owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed in coordination with the Department of Conservation and Recreation as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System.
- York River State Park is located in James City County along the York River. A portion of the park is designated as the Taskinas Creek Station of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
- Located on 494 acres along the James River in Charles City County, the VCU Rice Rivers Center is a field station devoted to research, teaching, and public service.
- 2,781 acres of local parks span the three counties of the Lower Chickahominy.
Conservation Easements
Almost 13,838 acres of land in the Lower Chickahominy area have been conserved through conservation easements. Conservation easements legally restrict the use of land for development permanently. The terms of each easement are unique, but generally, conservation easements maintain land in a natural, undeveloped state passively or in a working manner, such as agriculture or forestry. Two private non-profit land trusts work with landowners in the Lower Chickahominy area to protect and preserve land: Capital Region Land Conservancy and Historic Virginia Land Conservancy. Other easement holders of land in the Lower Chickahominy include Virginia Outdoors Foundation, State Agencies including the Department of Forestry and the Department of Historic Resources, James City County through a currently paused purchase of development rights program, James River Association, and Ducks Unlimited.
What is a conservation easement?
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently protects specific conservation values by limiting the future development of the land. Land under a conservation easement is still held by the owner and can be used actively according to the terms of the easement, for example, as open space, for recreation, for agriculture, or for forestry. Each conservation easement is unique.
Wildlife Management Areas
Three Wildlife management areas are located in the three-county Lower Chickahominy area. Wildlife management areas offer public opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing.
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Photo by Will Parson / Chesapeake Bay Program
Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery, located in Charles City County, produces American shad, alewife, blueblack herring, hickory shad, and stripped bass. The fish hatchery recently added the production of freshwater mussels to recover imperiled species such as the James spinymussel among others.
Project Partner Resources
James River Association
The James River Association maintains a public access mapper for the James River and tributaries, including the Chickahominy River. The user-friendly site includes information about locations including address, website, and amenities.
VA Department of Wildlife Resources
Major Trail Resources
DWR Boating Access Changes
Effective January 1, 2021, any person using a Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)-owned or managed facility, including boating access sites, must have a valid Virginia hunting, trapping, or fishing permit, a Restore the Wild membership, an access permit, or current certificate of boat registration issued by DWR to use the facility. To learn more see the DWR FAQs page.
Agricultural & Forestal Districts
Forests play a vital role in an ecosystem and its many cycles: nutrient cycling, water, and air purification, carbon storage, and more. Deforestation fragments forests, reducing their ability to perform these services. Additionally, fragmented forests can cause plant and animal population numbers to decrease. In 1977 the Virginia General Assembly passed the Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act. Agricultural Forestal Districts, or AFDs, are preserved areas of land that maintain the ecological importance of that space. Residents can voluntarily designate their own land as an AFD if that land continues to be managed and preserved as mandated in a participating locality. After the land is designated as an AFD, this land cannot be used intensively for several years. Find more information on AFDs from VDOF.
AFDs in the Lower Chickahominy localities are available in New Kent County and James City County.
James City County AFD Map
New Kent County AFD Map
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This project, Task # 93.01 was funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program led by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through Grant FY18 #NA18NOS4190152 of the US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Department of Commerce, NOAA, or any of its sub-agencies.
