Launching paddlers into Lynnhaven headwaters

By John Streit

Correspondent

VIRGINIA BEACH

As Karen Forget described the new Birdneck canoe and kayak launch site, she paused and looked skyward as a great blue heron flew overhead.

Just as it passed, several more took flight over Great Neck Creek - one of the headwaters of the Lynnhaven River - joined by a snowy egret.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" said Forget, executive director of Lynnhaven River Now, a nonprofit whose goal is to preserve the vitality of the waterway.

"When you get down here in the headwaters of the river, where there are a lot more birds and a lot more wildlife, it's really neat," she said. "We're getting a show."

An encounter like this is one of the reasons Lynnhaven River Now selected and, with the help of Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation, developed the launch site.

The launch was opened to the public on Nov. 7 and is the fourth public kayak and canoe launch site on the Lynnhaven River - joining launches at Hatton Circle, the city boat ramp on the west side of the Lesner Bridge and on 64th Street in First Landing State Park.

Tucked away on the western shore of the Birdneck Peninsula at the end of Old Virginia Beach Road, the launch is a nondescript but functional gravel ramp that descends into the water.

Currently, a pictorial sign of a kayaker and a break in the road's guardrail are the only indicators of the launch's existence. But by springtime, an informational sign describing the surrounding waters and marshes will be posted, thanks to a grant Lynnhaven River Now received from outerwear company Patagonia.

The site's simplicity is by design, according to Forget. By using gravel and publicly owned land (the Birdneck site is a city right-of-way), the launch was a cost-effective way to provide the public with an opportunity to experience the Lynnhaven's headwaters.

"We really believe that stewardship starts with your own personal experiences," Forget said. "Why should you care about protecting or restoring a river you don't have any experience with? Stewardship starts with an emotional connection."

To the south, the creek narrows and gives way to a sprawling salt marsh ecosystem, where close encounters with herons, egrets, various other bird species, raccoons, crabs and other flora and fauna are likely.

To the north, the creek widens into Linkhorn Bay, offering paddlers a different sightseeing experience with wooded lots, huge waterfront homes and docks.

The site was handpicked by Lynnhaven River Now's Stewardship and Access Committee in cooperation with Parks and Rec.

Currently, the committee has 13 other potential launch sites throughout the Lynnhaven watershed on its radar.

"Our population has exploded in our watershed and the majority of those people don't live on the water or have direct access to the water," Forget said. "We need more of these public access spots to provide people with these opportunities."

For more information on Lynnhaven River Now, visit www.LRNow.org or call (757) 962-5398.

John Streit,

vb.beaconsports@yahoo.com