An abundance of lakes and streams and canals in the area means Virginia Beach’s surface area is roughly half water, and that means we’ve got plenty of boaters. A significant part of that water can be found down in Back Bay, and anyone looking to make use of the Department of Wildlife Resources facilities to launch boats or kayaks or canoes will find that starting this month they’ll need to have one of several licenses/permits.

A new rule means that in order to use ramps owned and maintained by the DWR, you’ll need to possess one of the following credentials.