Dragon Run Wetland Mitigation Project

Project Description

Dragon Run Wetland Mitigation Project

The northern portion of the property is occupied by Dragon Run Swamp, a palustrine alluvial floodplain wetland, a portion of which is bisected by a perennial, unnamed tributary running from west to east. The stream has been impacted by a historical road crossing which has been further influenced by beaver activity. This impact created an open water impoundment which has impacted Dragon Run Swamp wetlands and approximately 900-linear feet of stream channel.

This region of the Dragon Run Swamp is a critical aquatic resource in Virginia and acts as a sponge for flood flows and pollutants before flowing into the Piankatank River. Ecosystem Services was contracted to provide the wetland mitigation design plans, permit acquisition, bidding support, construction oversight, development and delivery of as-built reports, and post-construction site evaluation for the project. The purpose of the project was to provide wetland mitigation to offset unavoidable impacts in the Chesapeake Bay Basin. The project resulted in 1.3-acres of wetland enhancement, and 7.27-acres of upland buffer restoration. Wetlands were created by expanding existing wetlands. A series of flat benches where constructed while leaving the existing wetland undisturbed. A ridge with a clay core was placed around the perimeter to hold up the water table. Wetland areas were surrounded by a 200-foot wide forested upland buffer. In addition, an existing beaver dam was removed to convert an area of open water to wetlands resulting in a free flowing stream-wetland system that drains to the Dragon. Monitoring and reporting occurred in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and ended in 2019 with Year 5 monitoring.