CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - The Chincoteague Town Council is hosting a public presentation on Thursday evening focused on the island’s shrinking shoreline.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science Professor Dr. Christopher Hein leads a team of researchers charged by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2019 to study the erosion on Chincoteague. He tells WBOC that Chincoteague is one of the most dynamic tidal inlets on the East Coast.
“It is really an island that formed because of Chincoteague Inlet,” Dr. Hein said. “It’s one that is constantly being reshaped and experiencing erosion as a result of what’s happening at that inlet only a few miles away and severe storms can have that kind of impact.
The VIMS team developed a numerical model to understand how waves and currents interact with Assateague, Wallops, and Chincoteague. A time-lapse included in Thursday’s presentation depicts the erosion of what was once called Fishing Point on Assateague. In 2002, the Chincoteague Inlet nearly doubled in width when that land was gone, clearing the way for stronger strikes against the shoreline.
“It's just constant washing away, washing away, and no, you cannot stop Mother Nature, but you can hold her up a little bit,” Mayor Denise Bowden said.
Town leadership has long called on state and federal lawmakers for assistance. Congress approved a project to protect the inlet around 2016.
"Unfortunately, though, the Army Corps of Engineers would not accept Dr. Hein's study,” Bowden said. “They wanted to do their own, of course, with a big price tag along with it."
Waiting for federal funding of such a study is costing the town time and land.
"I'm really hoping the community is going to run with this,” Bowden said of Thursday’s meeting
Dr. Hein said he also believes empowering the community with a better understanding of how the island is affected by changes to the inlet could help on the path to protection.
Representatives from Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-District 2) plan to attend. Officials tell WBOC the public presentation will be recorded and shared with other lawmakers representing the area.
“An Island Shaped by its Inlet: The Evolving Threats to Chincoteague” begins at 6 pm. The presentation at the Chincoteague Community Center is open to the public and will be streamed live on the town’s Facebook.