Willis Wharf is a small (population 300), unincorporated, waterfront village on Parting Creek in Northampton County, on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The village developed as a deepwater port during the 18th and 19th centuries whose major products were clams, scallops and oysters. 

Although the seafood industry has declined in recent decades, during the past several years some of the local watermen have begun "aquaculture" businesses in which they raise small clams in indoor tanks, "plant" them in local waters, and then "harvest" them at maturity. This process relies on the clean waters of Parting Creek to provide the proper environmental conditions for clam production. The quality of this water has been threatened by nearby residential development and the prospect of a regional wastewater treatment plant that would discharge treated effluent into the creek. 

The Nature Conservancy has become a major landowner in the region surrounding Willis Wharf, due to the ecological value and quality of the natural systems there. The Conservancy shares the concern of the local waterman about the future water quality in Parting Creek, but it understands that the ultimate protection of these resources will depend on a local economy that is at once healthy but also harmonious with those pristine natural systems. Thus, the Conservancy has worked closely with local leaders to try to foster the development of compatible businesses such as clam aquaculture. 

As the various threats to this young industry began to emerge, the Conservancy encouraged local leaders to work together to plan for the future they really wanted. Together, they decided to undertake a collaborative planning process to define their preferred future for the village and its surrounding area. This planning effort began in earnest in early 1994 and was completed by the end of 1994. The goals of the process were to:

	Define the citizen's preferences for the long term future  of the village through the creation of a "Vision Plan" that  depicts that future in words and graphics
	Ensure that the Vision truly reflects local desires through  the use of a collaborative process involving the entire  community
	Create a Vision that is persuasive, not only to the people  of the village, but also to landowners, leaders and elected  officials of neighboring towns, the County and the State

Many people share responsibility for the Willis Wharf vision process and its implementation: 

The citizens of the village who participated during the visioning process and are responsible for following through with various efforts to implement the Vision Plan, which they have done so far with extraordinary success. 

The village “steering committee” selected by the citizens to lead the planning process. 

The Nature Conservancy which obtained grant funding to hire the consulting team of Milton Herd (visioning process design and facilitation) and Vladimir Gavrilovic (graphic support) for the visioning process.  

The Willis Wharf Vision Statement (summary)  Willis Wharf will be a small, thriving seaside village with a safe, quiet and inviting community that works together with its neighbors in a cooperative spirit to: determine its own destiny and retain its own identity as a distinct community  preserve its rich natural and cultural heritage and affordable residential neighborhoods  maintain the pristine quality of the ground and surface waters and other natural resources in and around the community as part of daily life and the local economy  support and retain its residents with traditional seafood, farming and related industries that are clean, low-key and ecologically sound   grow gradually while preserving and enhancing the traditional village character and surrounding rural open space through well planned, managed and compatible development.

At the initial community meeting, the citizens at large expressed a determination to maintain a strong, democratic control over decisions made on their behalf. They selected the Steering Committee of a dozen village citizens, but insisted that this Steering Committee first receive approval from the citizens at large before taking formal actions of any kind.     The citizens at large gave approval to the Steering Committee to retain the planning consultants and to initiate a series of three community planning "forums" to create the village vision. The Steering Committee agreed to maintain a file of the minutes and notices of meetings at the village store and in the Post Office, so that everyone would be aware of what was going on. The final vision statement was affirmed by the citizens at large during the third forum, and was later formally adopted by the Steering Committee. In addition to the vision statement, the citizens developed an exhaustive list of potential actions to implement the vision.