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Green Sea Program

Mary Kathryn van Eerden with local landowners
Mary Kathryn van Eerden with
local landowners
© Byron Jorjorian
 
Northwest River Preserve
Northwest River Preserve
© Byron Jorjorian

Mary Kathryn van Eerden, director of the Conservancy's Green Sea Program, arrived at her post in Chesapeake, Virginia on February 28, 2001.

In 1728, William Byrd looked out over the expansive canebrakes that covered the marshes of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina and proclaimed them a "Green Sea." Only a fraction of this original habitat still exists, but what remains is exceptional.

The globally rare wind-tide marshes along the Northwest and North Landing rivers are the finest remaining examples of this habitat in the world, and over the last decade, The Nature Conservancy has protected close to 28,000 acres of Green Sea wetlands across both states. The Virginia least trillium, eastern big-eared bat, and canebrake rattlesnake are just a few of the imperiled species giving this area Virginia's highest concentration of rarities east of the Blue Ridge.

"Protecting the Northwest River corridor, playing an active role in Chesapeake's open space protection plan, and scurrying to stay ahead of threats to our preserves will be my top priorities in the near future," says van Eerden.

Green Sea Program 
940-B Corporate Lane
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Phone: (757) 549-4690
mkvaneerden@tnc.org