Environmental reporter at The Virginian-Pilot. Creator of Catch the King, a Hampton Roads crowdsourcing event.
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Articles by Dave Mayfield
As waves unearth old graves on the island, Tangier’s past could be a glimpse into its future
It takes 10 minutes to travel back a century when you skip across the waves from this island's harbor to Uppards. Cameron Evans, a 17-year-old rising senior at Tangier's K-12 school, was the skipper on a recent afternoon. Soon after pulling his skiff ashore from the salt-sprayed ride, he issued instructions for walking the secluded beach: "Just keep your eyes down. You'll never know what you'll find." Fragments of pottery and glass. Old toy marbles. Coat buttons. Door handles.
After box turtle's failure, Virginia's official state reptile could soon be a snake
Twice, the Eastern box turtle came up short in its crawl toward designation as Virginia’s official state reptile. This year, a creature of a different order will slither home with the prize if state Del. Brenda Pogge has her way. She’s betting on two other long-revered symbols of Virginia’s natural beauty and the passion of an 11-year-old boy to help win the fight. House Bill 335, her proposal, isn’t typical fare for Pogge, a Republican from James City County.
Intense seismic sound blasts are next big concern for anti-drilling advocates
Opponents of oil and gas drilling along the East Coast breathed sighs of relief last week when federal officials announced that the Atlantic had been dropped from the next offshore leasing plan. Now, anti-drilling advocates are focusing on what they see as another threat: a slew of applications for seismic surveys that could increase the estimates of hydrocarbons beneath the ocean floor.
With massive expansion under way, Virginia becoming a leader in solar energy field
There are sunnier states than Virginia, and there are many states whose policies promoting solar energy have been more radiant.
Gulf Stream emerging as sea level rise "wild card" for Hampton Roads
Early in the fall of 2015, over a period of a few weeks, the tides in Hampton Roads rose well beyond what was predicted – as much as three feet higher, enough in some cases to flood low-lying roads throughout the region.Tal Ezer had an idea about what might be contributing to the problem, and the Old Dominion University oceanography professor knew where to look – an obscure website that compiles a daily average of water pouring through a strait between Florida and the Bahamas.What it showed...
Hampton Roads sea level rise is accelerating, report says
Hampton Roads will continue to deal with one of the nation’s highest rates of sea level rise, according to a new report, which predicts the region’s tidal baseline will increase by more than a foot between now and 2050.The report issued Monday by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science predicts that sea level rise will keep accelerating locally as the planet continues to warm.Planning officials and other ocean scientists in Hampton Roads said they weren’t surprised by the predictions,...
Meeting in Moncton Today Will Discuss Early Opening of Gulf Crab to Protect Whales
Meeting in Moncton Today Will Discuss Early Opening of Gulf Crab to Protect Whales Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials will meet with snow crab industry representatives in Moncton Wednesday to discuss the upcoming season in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The purpose of the meeting is to "provide advice regarding global management issues in the snow crab fishery," according to the agenda.
New Seafood News Podcast Discusses Ropeless Fishing Gear Controversy and Much More
New Seafood News Podcast Discusses Ropeless Fishing Gear Controversy and Much More Start your week off with the Seafood News Podcast! In this latest episiode hosts Nicole Christie and Amanda Buckle discuss the controversy surrounding ropeless fishing gear and break down South Korea’s issue with fish imports from Japan. Plus, find out what happened to the California brown bears who were being treated for burns with tilapia skin. This episode is sponsored by Urner Barry.
Surf Clam Decision a Massive Failure on the Part of Canada’s Fishery Minister (Opinion)
Surf Clam Decision a Massive Failure on the Part of Canada’s Fishery Minister (Opinion) The recent decision to award 25% of the Arctic clam quota in Canada to a bidder consisting of a small company in Nova Scotia, and five unknown indigenous band partners in Atlantic Canada appears to be a massive failure.
Billion and billions of new oysters to be added to Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and its partners want to add 10 billion oysters to the bay and its tributaries in Virginia and Maryland over the next seven years.The program, announced Monday, likely will be an increase over the number of oysters added during the past seven years, Bay Foundation officials said, though they haven’t yet tallied an estimate of how many were put in over the most recent period.More important, foundation officials said, is the partnership of more than 20 businesses,...
Specter of Florida stealing a Norfolk carrier riles region's biggest "anti-drilling" vote so far
CHESAPEAKEWas Florida's abrupt exemption from a plan to dramatically expand offshore oil drilling part of a plot to move a Navy aircraft carrier to that state from Norfolk?That was the suggestion of some Hampton Roads elected officials on Thursday, and their warnings helped fuel a unanimous vote by the region's planning organization against oil and gas development along the Virginia coast."Let’s just connect the dots," Williamsburg Mayor Paul Freiling told fellow members of the Hampton Roads...
Tastes like ... too many chicken houses? That's what some on Virginia Eastern Shore are saying
ONLEY, VA.The giant processing plants of Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods stand about 13 miles apart on U.S. 13. It makes for a handy way to mark progress when driving the upper spine of the Virginia Eastern Shore, in Accomack County.To most people passing through, the plants are the only poultry industry landmarks on the Shore.
Gov. Northam urged Interior secretary to drop Virginia from drilling plan
Gov. Ralph Northam bent the ear of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke last week, urging him in a phone conversation to drop Virginia from a recently released federal plan to dramatically expand offshore oil and gas drilling.Charlotte Gomer, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor, confirmed the phone call in response to an email inquiry Friday.She described it as a "productive conversation" but declined to characterize Zinke's response.
Missing Poquoson woman dies after being found along interstate ditch
A 65-year-old Poquoson woman who went missing last week was found near Interstate 64 in Hampton on Monday and died later in a hospital, Virginia State Police said.Kathleen Ann Diggs had been missing since Thursday, and family members said she suffered from bipolar disorder, police said in a news release.Diggs was found face down in a ditch at the entrance ramp to I-64 from Hampton Roads Center Parkway on Monday afternoon.
Feds reschedule Virginia meeting on offshore drilling, but it's still far from the coast
Federal officials have set a new date for a meeting on potentially reopening the Virginia coastline to oil and gas drilling, but it’s still planned far from shore.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management postponed a Jan. 17 meeting near Richmond because of a snowstorm. The meeting is now set for Feb.
Right whale death off Virginia coast adds to concern about species' demise
The death of a right whale, spotted floating off the Virginia Beach coast last week, has drawn wide attention to a species considered one of the most imperiled of marine mammals.The 10-year-old juvenile female is believed to have become entangled in fishing gear, and its death was the first of 2018 among North Atlantic right whales.
In using wastewater to fight sea level rise, will beer be an additional benefit?
It’s not enough for Ted Henifin to lead a billion-dollar project that just might lessen the threat of sea level rise in Hampton Roads.He’d like also to create some delicious beer in the process.I hope I’ve tickled your taste buds. But bear with me.
Sea level rise for dummies? New groups make waves in a push to personalize the threat
Matthew Eby has big ambitions.A year ago, the former Weather Channel marketing exec got really interested in sea level rise, so interested that he founded a couple of nonprofit groups that he envisioned tackling the problem nationwide, starting in Miami and Hampton Roads.But Eby, who’s 33, wanted to try a different way of getting people interested in a problem that to many in his generation seems distant and too complicated for anybody but seasoned scientists to comprehend.So when Eby and...
Feds say they're happy to talk to you about offshore drilling, as long as you drive far from the shore
The last time federal officials proposed drilling for oil and gas off the ocean shores of Virginia and North Carolina, in 2015, they came down to the coast to hear what locals thought .Most hated the idea, and eventually the decision-makers in Washington backed off the plan.This time , with the Atlantic waters back in play, the feds are staying away from the coast. The closest public meeting for Virginians, on Wednesday, will be outside of Richmond – nearly two hours from the ocean.
Virginia, North Carolina are back in play for offshore oil and gas drilling
President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday outlined a vision for dramatically expanding offshore exploration for oil and natural gas.
Virginia water official says anti-pipeline banner was hung on her porch: “It was an attempt to intimidate me"
NORFOLKThe banner was handwritten and blunt: “Stop Poisoning Our Community!”It was hung on the front porch of Heather Wood’s Ghent home. Though it was taken down by a neighbor before she saw it there, Wood said she heard the message loud and clear, and it didn't succeed: “It was an attempt to intimidate me and influence my vote.”She is vice chair of the State Water Control Board, which this month has debated whether to give go-aheads to two controversial natural gas pipeline projects.
4 things we learned from tracing the king tide across Hampton Roads
On Sunday morning, more than 500 Hampton Roads residents traced this year’s highest astronomical tide in an event called Catch the King.It was the largest-ever tidal data crowdsourcing event and a partnership among media organizations that ordinarily compete for readers, listeners and viewers – The Virginian-Pilot, the Daily Press, WHRO Public Media and WVEC-TV.Where people mapped the king tide Here are four things we learned from Catch the King:1) These days, a flooding tide can come in...
Hundreds of volunteers turn out to Catch the King tide
Hundreds of volunteers waded through floodwaters across Hampton Roads this morning on a science quest: to capture a high tide at its peak.It was the culmination of Catch the King, the world’s largest-ever crowdsourcing event focused on measuring the tides.
Mild weather, flooded streets: Ideal conditions to Catch the King
The forecast for Sunday is outstanding – if you like mild temperatures, big chunks of blue sky amid puffy clouds and a gentle breeze.Oh, and a strong chance of flooding.Repeat that last part? Yes, though the weather may seem gentle, the National Weather Service is predicting higher-than-average, potentially flooding tides this weekend.
Mattis Won't Ignore Climate Change Despite Pressure From Trump
Climate scientists in the federal government have been on the defensive since President Donald Trump took office in January. But military leaders will continue to address the risks that climate change poses to bases and national security, a senior Pentagon official said at a conference on Oct. 27 on sea level rise.
In Trump Era, Rising Seas Still a Concern for Defense Department
WILLIAMSBURG -- Climate scientists in the federal government have been on the defensive since President Donald Trump took office in January. But military leaders will continue to address the risks that climate change poses to bases and national security, a senior Pentagon official said at conference Friday on sea level rise.
Much-traveled, much-embattled Greenpeace ship to stop in Norfolk this week
NORFOLKShips built for battle come and go nearly every day in this Navy town, but never one quite like the Arctic Sunrise, which is scheduled to arrive Thursday at the Waterside Marina.The Greenpeace vessel’s penchant for finding trouble out on the oceans has taken it into the path of a U.S. missile test in the Pacific and gotten it seized by Russia for nine months for daring to disturb oil drilling in the Arctic.
As king tide event nears, hundreds of volunteers are rising to the occasion
Back in March, on a dreary weekday afternoon, I had a little unexpected downtime. So I decided to learn a little more about the tides. I'd read about king tides in places like Florida and Hawaii. Were there times here in Hampton Roads when the tides tend to run much higher?I didn't even have a story in mind – much less a citizen-science project with potentially hundreds of participants.But that's what that lazy-day meander of mine appears to have led to.
As sea levels climb, storms once thought minor can have an impact
Back on Aug. 29, the rain came in buckets and an east-northeasterly wind rattled windows for hours. So the high tide that afternoon did what anyone who'd stuck a finger in the air would have expected: It rose and rose. In the midst of that unnamed storm dashing up the coast, the gauge at Sewells Point in Norfolk measured a peak water level deep into the minor flooding stage. Lots of low-lying streets in Hampton Roads were swamped. It was easy to explain.
As climate warms, human disease risk from bay oysters will grow, study says
If the Chesapeake Bay grows warmer because of climate change, it also likely will become more hospitable to some species of bacteria that can make it risky to eat oysters.That’s the conclusion of a study published Tuesday in GeoHealth, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.In the coming decades, regulators may have to expand restrictions on harvests to limit health risks from eating oysters, according to the study, whose lead author is Barbara Muhling, a project scientist at the...
Grants for oyster reefs will help Norfolk's Lafayette claim status as a "restored" river
NORFOLK — The Lafayette River pulled closer to a key goal of groups working to restore its health, as a federally chartered foundation on Monday announced about $400,000 in grants for oyster reef projects.The grants, split almost equally between the nonprofits Elizabeth River Project and Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will help pay for 5.5 acres of new reefs near the mouth of the Lafayette.
Grants for oyster reefs will help Norfolk's Lafayette claim status as a "restored" river
NORFOLKThe Lafayette River pulled closer to a key goal of groups working to restore its health, as a federally chartered foundation Monday announced about $400,000 in grants for oyster reef projects.The grants, split almost equally between the nonprofits Elizabeth River Project and Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will help pay for 5.5 acres of new reefs near the mouth of the Lafayette.
Push is on to protect small fish and everything that eats them
Perhaps the biggest surprise about menhaden – given that they're often called the most important fish in the ocean – is that until five years ago, there was effectively no cap on how many of them could be harvested along the Atlantic coast.Now the same agency that adopted that quota in hopes of saving the little, bony, oily fish is moving toward another big change.
Hampton Roads media, scientists are teaming up to understand tides. We need your help.
In Hampton Roads, like coastal communities all over the world, the tides are coming in. And in. And in. Sea levels are rising. Tidal flooding is increasing. And though we breathe collective sighs of relief each times monster storms like Harvey and Irma rampage elsewhere, most of us know deep down that it's just a matter of time before we take a direct hit. Our risk from the water around us will keep growing. Yet, there's still so much we don't know about the tides that bind us.
Hampton Roads media organizations are teaming up to understand tides. We need your help.
In Hampton Roads, like coastal communities all over the world, the tides are coming in. And in. And in. Sea levels are rising. Tidal flooding is increasing. And though we breathe collective sighs of relief each times monster storms like Harvey and Irma rampage elsewhere, most of us know deep down that it's just a matter of time before we take a direct hit.Our risk from the water around us will keep growing.Yet, there's still so much we don't know about the tides that bind us.
An astronomical high tide will hit Hampton Roads on Nov. 5 - will you help us Catch the King tide?
In Hampton Roads, like coastal communities all over the world, the tides are coming in. And in. And in. Sea levels are rising. Tidal flooding is increasing. And though we breathe collective sighs of relief each time monster storms like Harvey and Irma rampage elsewhere, most of us know deep down that it’s just a matter of time before we take a direct hit.Our risk from the water around us will keep growing.Yet, there’s still so much we don’t know about the tides that bind us.
Hurricane like Harvey would devastate Hampton Roads, so planners are taking notes
The answer is yes: It could happen here.A storm that dumps more than 50 inches of rain over several days, like Hurricane Harvey has done along the Texas coast, is extremely unlikely in Hampton Roads.Still, “you never say never,” said Jeff Orrock, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Wakefield office.
Hurricane like Harvey would devastate Hampton Roads, so planners look for lessons in the storm
The answer is yes: It could happen here.A storm that dumps more than 50 inches of rain over several days, like Hurricane Harvey has done along the Texas coast, is extremely unlikely in Hampton Roads.Still, “you never say never,” said Jeff Orrock, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Wakefield office.
Suffolk council says yes to expansion of regional landfill
SUFFOLKThe City Council gave a go-ahead Wednesday to the region's trash agency, the Southeastern Public Service Authority, to expand its giant landfill in Suffolk.The approval was critical to SPSA's long-term strategy for handling garbage as it struggles with whether to give up on a startup company that's supposed to take over as the lead trash contractor next year.
WHRO's environmental education program has job-creating potential, Gov. McAuliffe says
NORFOLKAn environmental education program to be rolled out in the coming school year has the potential to help diversify Virginia’s economy, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Monday.The statewide Batten Environmental Education Initiative is being launched by WHRO Public Media through a $3 million gift from Jane Batten. She is the widow of Frank Batten, former chairman of the company now known as Landmark Media Enterprises, which publishes The Virginian-Pilot.
This out-of-the-box idea could save Tangier Island, but it's a long shot
TANGIERFor years, residents of this fast-shrinking island have been jealous of a project about 75 miles north in the Chesapeake Bay, up in Maryland waters, at a place called Poplar.A century and a half ago, Poplar was an island of more than a thousand acres, bigger than Tangier is now. But by the early 1990s, it was almost gone. And then, miraculously, it wasn’t.
Tangiermen see hope in a long shot that would reinvent the island
TANGIERFor years, residents of this fast-shrinking island have been jealous of a project about 75 miles north in the Chesapeake Bay, up in Maryland waters, at a place called Poplar.A century and a half ago, Poplar was an island of more than a thousand acres, bigger than Tangier is now. But by the early 1990s, it was almost gone. And then, miraculously, it wasn’t.
As waves unearth old graves on the island, Tangier's past could be a glimpse into its future
TANGIERIt takes 10 minutes to travel back a century when you skip across the waves from this island’s harbor to Uppards.Cameron Evans, a 17-year-old rising senior at Tangier’s K-12 school, was the skipper on a recent afternoon. Soon after pulling his skiff ashore from the salt-sprayed ride, he issued instructions for walking the secluded beach: “Just keep your eyes down. You’ll never know what you’ll find.” Fragments of pottery and glass. Old toy marbles. Coat buttons.
Tangier Island is sinking and its residents are putting their faith in Trump
TANGIERThe people of this sinking, shriveling outpost in the Chesapeake Bay are believers. Above all, they believe in God. A giant cross painted on the island’s water tower proclaims their faith.And they believe in Donald Trump.
Tangier Island is sinking and its residents are putting their faith in Trump
TANGIERThe people of this sinking, shriveling outpost in the Chesapeake Bay are believers. Above all, they believe in God. A giant cross painted on the island’s water tower proclaims their faith. And they believe in Donald Trump.
RePower South offers sweeteners to hold onto its deal to handle Hampton Roads trash
The company chosen by the Southeastern Public Service Authority to take over as the region’s lead trash processor is offering to sweeten its deal as it continues trying to finalize a project that is months past its deadline.RePower South wrote in a letter emailed this week to council members and board supervisors in the eight cities and counties in SPSA’s territory that is willing to make “an unrestricted $3 million cash payment to compensate for our late start date.”The Spartanburg,...
Some new reports help picture the threat of sea level rise in Hampton Roads
My wife and I own a couple of rental homes in Norfolk, and after our newest tenants, a Navy family, signed the lease this past week, the officer and I got to small-talking.He’d never been stationed in Hampton Roads – and he wanted to know about sea level rise. How big of a problem could it become around here? I know, right? I write about it a lot.I’m afraid I was a disappointment. Beyond assuring him that it was real (I trust the tide gauge at Sewells Point), I couldn’t make predictions.
Dominion announces plan to revive offshore wind project off Virginia Beach
Plans to turn Virginia’s offshore waters into a new frontier for energy development got a boost once again today from the state’s largest utility.Dominion Energy said it signed an agreement with Denmark-based DONG Energy, the world's leading offshore wind developer, to build two 6-megawatt test turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach.
Feds extend comment period on seismic testing in the Atlantic
The public is being given 15 more days to comment on applications by five companies to do seismic airgun surveys for oil and natural gas deposits in the Atlantic Ocean.The National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday announced the extension of the comment period to July 21.Five Houston-based survey companies are seeking "incidental harassment authorizations" that allow them to disturb or harm marine mammals during the course of their airgun surveys.
As sea levels rise, NOAA scientists work toward seasonal tidal flooding forecasts
Something strange, by today’s standards, happened in Norfolk back in 1984: That was the last year in which there were no flooding tides in the city, according to records kept by the National Weather Service.Since then, the trend line has been up, up, up. If the pattern holds, there’ll be around 10 days this year in which water levels at the Sewells Point tide gauge rise above flood stage.It’s a problem in coastal areas all over the world. The seas are rising faster by the decade.
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