KM Conservation Area at ERT

About the Program
The Kinder Morgan Elizabeth River Terminal is a 110-acre cargo terminal and storage facility located on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River outside of Chesapeake, Virginia. The site includes indoor and outdoor storage facilities, loading and unloading facilities and access to a number of rail and highway systems. Materials commonly handled at the site include: fertilizers, ores, minerals, aggregates, salt and scrap steel. Several areas on the site are managed for conservation purposes including a grassland, wetland and riparian corridor.  irds are also closely monitored throughout the site.


Practices and Impacts

• Over nine acres of grassland is managed for grassland-dependent species, with an emphasis on grassland birds. The site is mowed in very early spring and late summer to minimize impacts on wildlife and to control woody vegetation. Monitoring activities take place annually.
• Kinder Morgan donated a conservation easement on 16 acres of highly polluted shoreline. Of that, 3.4 acres were restored as part of a larger coastal wetland restoration effort (Money Point Restoration Project). A living cap was installed over toxic sediments and native grasses planted. Goose and shoreline protections were also added to stabilize the project area. The site’s vegetation and avian fauna are monitored annually. The site has also received a number of environmental restoration awards and recognitions.
• More than three acres of previously industrial land use were restored as riparian corridor via the planting of a wide variety of native tree species over an eight-year period. The site is monitored for both tree survival and diversity as well as avian use.
• The grassland management, shoreline and riparian corridor (forest) restorations are primarily focused on improving habitat for local and migrating birds. Bird counts are performed multiple times per year, and the project has identified 135 different species of birds using the combined conservation areas.