The Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority is seeking donations of land with water access throughout the region.

The authority is especially targeting Essex County property owners currently, said Lewis Lawrence, executive director of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, which provides staff for the authority. No sites have yet been donated in Essex County, Lawrence said, while properties have been donated in the other five member counties.

In Virginia, one percent of coastal land is publicly owned, Lawrence said, and donating land to the authority is a way to leave a coastal legacy by supporting the cultural heritage of the Middle Peninsula. At 97 acres, Captain Sinclair Recreational Area off Severn River in Gloucester is the largest site donated to date. It includes waterfowl blinds open for public use, a living shoreline under construction, and a boat launch that supports the Gloucester High School crew.

For more information about PAA and its land do...