National historic trails are partnership endeavors, spanning vast distances and involving many different jurisdictions. The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail already involves numerous partners, and the number of partnerships will increase as the trail develops.
Two partnership entities are linked to the trail by law. The legislation that created the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail specifies that the trail shall be administered “in coordination with” the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Organizations
Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network (CBGN)
Authorized by Congress in 1998, CBGN is an extensive partnership network of parks, wildlife refuges, historic sites, museums, water and land trails, and other places throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed that connect people with the authentic Chesapeake. The National Park Service coordinates the Network and helps the designated Gateways provide interpretation, education, and access to Chesapeake Bay places and stories.
More than 160 sites and 1500 miles of water trails already share the CBGN mission to make exploring the Chesapeake a richer, more revealing experience. The majority of these Gateways can be linked thematically and/or geographically to Captain John Smith’s explorations. The Feasibility Study for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the legislation that established the trail assume that the trail will build on the established framework of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.
Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay Program is the regional partnership that has coordinated and conducted the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since 1983. Partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representing the federal government, the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the states of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative body; and advisory groups of citizens, scientists, and local government officials. The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office is part of the Chesapeake Bay Program, providing leadership in education and interpretation to foster citizen stewardship of the Bay.
Developing the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail in coordination with the Chesapeake Bay Program will ensure that the trail contributes to overall Bay restoration goals. Visit the Chesapeake Bay Program website for comprehensive information about the Bay.
Federal Partners
The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail involves federal partners linked directly through management of lands along the trail, such as national wildlife refuges, and as part of the Chesapeake Bay Program. Presidential Executive Order 13508 for Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, signed by President Barack Obama on May 12, 2009, strengthens the federal commitment to restore the Chesapeake Bay. The Executive Order recognizes that the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and directs federal agencies to coordinate their efforts to increase access and to conserve landscapes and ecosystems with the Captain John Smith Chesaspeake National Historic Trail. Key federal partners for the trail include:
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is the lead federal agency in administering the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Legislation that established the trail in 2006 specifies that the Secretary of the Interior will administer the trail in coordination with the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and the Chesapeake Bay Program. The Secretary delegated administration to the NPS Chesapeake Bay Office.
The NPS Chesapeake Bay Office (CBO) administers the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and co-administers Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. It is a federal partner in the watershed-wide Chesapeake Bay Program. In all these areas, the NPS Chesapeake Bay Office connects people with the special places and stories of the Chesapeake, helps preserve those special places and stories, and fosters stewardship of the Chesapeake.
The superintendent of the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office is the superintendent for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
Environmental Protection Agency
One of the original signers to the 1983 Chesapeake Bay Agreement,
the Environmental Protection Agency is the primary representative for the federal government for the Chesapeake Bay Program. The EPA coordinates federal, state, and local Bay restoration efforts and authorities throughout the watershed and provides environmental planning and financial assistance; implements and coordinates science, modeling, data collection, assessment, monitoring, and outreach; and develops and makes available information pertaining to the environmental quality and living resources of the Cheapeake Bay ecosystem. EPA is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Clean Water Act and other environmental authorities.
The National Park Service and EPA have a long-standing memorandum of understanding that commits the two agencies to collaborate on Chesapeake Bay restoration and conservation efforts. Their Chesapeake Bay offices are co-located in Annapolis with several other partners in the Chesapeake Bay Program.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office focuses NOAA’s capabilities in science, service, and stewardship to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. NOAA is a partner in the multi-state Chesapeake Bay Program.
To mark points along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office worked with partners to develop the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS). NOAA’s “smart buoys” track meterological, water condition, and water quality data and relay the information to the public in near real time via toll-free phone (877-BUOY-BAY) and Internet (www.buoybay.org). The buoys also interpret history and geography along the John Smith trail.
Data from CBIBS buoys—the first of which was deployed by NOAA to coincide with the launch of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail in May 2007—is used by trail visitors and boaters to help them plan a safe day on the Bay, by scientists working to track the Bay’s restoration, and by educators in classrooms to help students learn more about the Bay through science and history.
NOAA and the National Park Service signed a memorandum of understanding in 2008 that commits the two agencies to work closely together to further develop and manage the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sixteen national wildlife refuges are located along the route of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. They are part of the National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Refuges are public lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife, and plants. All of the refuges in proximity to the Smith trail are within the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region. Many of these are already part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, working with the National Park Service to provide quality experiences, access to the trail, and Bay connections. The refuges are likely places to see wildlife habitats that retain the character of the Chesapeake landscape known to Captain John Smith.
National Park Service (units within the Bay watershed)
Twelve national park units and three national trails overlap with or are in proximity to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Colonial National Historic Park and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, in particular, have been involved in trail activities. The trail overlaps with segments of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail, and the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail.
State and Local Government Partners
The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail extends into parts of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. As the trail develops, the National Park Service will work with many different agencies and jurisdictions within these states and the District. These partners are already involved through the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and assisted the National Park Service with the Feasibility Study for the trail.
Numerous state parks, public boat ramps and other public access points exist on or near the trail routes. Departments for natural resources, cultural resources, recreation, education, environment, transportation, and tourism are among the offices that share interest in the trail’s potential for education, recreation, and heritage tourism. These agency partners are helping to identify additional resources and land conservation priorities as part of the planning process.
Early agency involvement includes:
Delaware
In addition to assisting trail planners with inventories and analyses of trail resources and public access, Delaware is developing a new water trail segment for Captain John Smith’s journey on the Nanticoke River.
Maryland
These offices have been active participants and consultants in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network since its inception. They are early partners in planning and developing the Smith trail by helping to identify additional resources, access points, and conservation priorities.
The National Park Service is working closely with this state office and is also consulting with representatives of individual tribes to engage Maryland’s Native American communities in planning and developing the trail.
Virginia
These offices have also been active participants and consultants in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network since its inception and in early planning for the Smith trail. Their water trail and interpretive projects developed for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown created a foundation for trail interpretation and access in Virginia, including interpretive trails for the James, York, Mattaponi, and Pamunkey rivers.
The National Park Service is working closely with this state office and is also consulting with representatives of individual tribes to engage Virginia’s Native American communities in planning and developing the trail.
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., offices are assisting in identifying resources and land conservation priorities, particularly along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.
Chesapeake Bay Commission
The Chesapeake Bay Commission is a policy leader in restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. The commission was created in 1980 as a tri-state legislative assembly representing Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to coordinate Bay-related policy across state lines and to develop shared solutions. The commission’s leadership covers a full spectrum of Bay issues, from managing living resources and conserving land to protecting water quality.
Non-Government Organizations
The impetus for creating the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail came from organizations and individuals who saw the potential of the trail to attract new interest in the Chesapeake Bay. These organizations, as well as many others, will help to broaden and sustain the base of support for the trail.
Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail
The Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail is a regional environmental organization dedicated to conserving treasured landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay and advancing the goals of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and other national historic trails in the Chesapeake region.
Founded in 2005, the Friends’ goals are to conserve Chesapeake landscapes, increase public access to the Bay, and develop stewardship for the Bay’s natural and cultural resources. The Friends successfully led the effort to establish the John Smith Trail, America’s first national water trail, and continues to facilitate the trail’s implementation and development in close cooperation with the National Park Service. Recently, the Friends played an instrumental role in the preservation of more than 6,000 acres of land, including 25 miles of shoreline along the trail. The Friends is advancing NOAA’s state-of-the-art buoy program to monitor the health of the Bay and to serve as markers for the trail. The Friends is a partnership of more than 180 state and local governments, citizen groups, and business partners—and thousands of people like you.
Learn more about the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail.
Friends of Chesapeake Gateways
The Friends of Chesapeake Gateways is a key supporting partner of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and its member Gateways. As a nonprofit partner, the Friends supplement the programmatic and financial capacity of Gateways, the Gateways Network, and also the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, the Friends of Chesapeake Gateways help achieve the Network’s interpretive, education, outreach, public relations, and stewardship goals.
The Friends assist with communications and promotions; provide technical assistance to build Gateway organizational capacity; assist with the development and implementation of interpretive, educational, public access, and volunteer restoration projects; and coordinate conferences and training workshops for Gateways and trail partners.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) was one of the founding supporters for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. CBF is the largest privately funded, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. CBF’s mission is to restore and sustain the Bay’s ecosystem by substantially improving the water quality and productivity of the watershed.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has adopted Captain John Smith’s descriptions of the Chesapeake in the early 1600s as a baseline for a rich and balanced Bay. CBF presents an annual State of the Bay report comparing the current health of the Bay to that baseline.
The Conservation Fund
The Conservation Fund (TCF) played a supporting role in establishing the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. The Fund is a national environmental organization dedicated to protecting America’s most important landscapes and waterways, such as the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Its mission is to promote both sustainable economic development and environmental protection. Through a partnership-driven approach, the Fund works to preserve our nation’s outdoor heritage. Since 1985, the Fund and its partners have protected more than 6 million acres of working lands, wild havens, community open space and more.
The Conservation Fund recently financed and structured six land conservation projects in Maryland and Virginia, protecting more than 6,000 acres and 25 miles of shoreline along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. The Fund continues to play a role in land conservation efforts associated with the trail. Learn more about the Fund’s regional efforts.
National Geographic
National Geographic was another early supporter in the creation of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” National Geographic joined the water trail initiative to encourage modern-day exploration and appreciation of the Chesapeake Bay. National Geographic’s outstanding publications, interactive website, and educational resources continue to bring alive the many facets of Captain John Smith’s explorations for audiences of all ages.