Virginia Coastal Policy Center

VCPC and THE RAFT Featured in the Media

VCPC's work in the Northern Neck as part of the Resilence Adaptation Feasibility Tool (RAFT) Core Team was the subject of an article published by Virginia Sea Grant -- check it out here!

https://vaseagrant.org/raft-in-the-northern-neck/   

RAFT was also the subject of a scholarly article in the most recent publication of Shore & Beach -- click the link below!

https://asbpa.org/publications/shore-and-beach/ 

The Quick Guide to Resilience was developed by VCPC with generous funding support from the Virginia Environmental Endowment and Virginia Sea Grant. Many thanks to our colleagues at VIMS, HR-PDC, and Old Dominion University for their guidance in review!

The Guide is intended as an easy reference for localities concerning resilience issues, containing vocabulary, brief definitions that can easily be reproduced for locality planning purposes, and links to important information sources. It is also featured on ADAPTVA. 

The Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) at William & Mary Law School provides science-based legal and policy analysis of ecological issues affecting the state's coastal resources, providing education and advice to a host of Virginia’s decision-makers, from government officials and legal scholars to non-profit and business leaders.

With two nationally prominent science partners – William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, one of the largest marine research and education centers in the United States, and Virginia Sea Grant, a nationally recognized broker of scientific information – VCPC works with scientists, local and state political figures, community leaders, the military, and others to integrate the latest science with legal and policy analysis to solve coastal resource management issues. VCPC activities are inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on scientific, economic, public policy, sociological, and other expertise from within the university and across the country. With access to internationally recognized scientists at VIMS, to Sea Grant’s national network of legal and science scholars, and to elected and appointed officials across the nation, VCPC engages in a host of information exchanges and collaborative partnerships.

VCPC grounds its pedagogical goals in the law school's philosophy of the citizen lawyer. VCPC students’ highly diverse interactions beyond the borders of the legal community provide the framework for their efforts to solve complex coastal resource management issues that currently face Virginia and the nation. Whether it is working to understand the underlying realities of local zoning policies or attempting to identify and reconcile the concerns of multiple stakeholders, VCPC students experience the breadth of environmental lawyering while gaining skills that will serve them well regardless of the legal career they pursue upon graduation.

Download the VCPC Brochure here.