A Watershed Moment

U.S. Rep John Sarbanes calls himself an aspiring boater. “I love being out on the water, but I don’t get much of a chance to do that,” the Maryland Democrat told Soundings. “Whenever I’m out on the water, I’m in seventh heaven.”

So, of course, are millions of Americans, which is one reason Sarbanes and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, also a Maryland Democrat, have introduced a draft plan to create a Chesapeake National Recreation Area. It would place certain sites around the Chesapeake Bay under the auspices of the National Park Service, as a way to bring more resources to the region while celebrating its history and creating more public access.

The draft plan is the result of years’ worth of conversations with various groups that advocate for Chesapeake Bay. The plan will be finalized into legislation that Sarbanes and Van Hollen plan to introduce in Congress this year. Congress would then have to pass the bill in order for the Chesapeake National Recreation Area to be created.

Members of the public can read the draft proposal and offer their thoughts until February 12 at https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/cnra.

“We really want to imprint on the public’s consciousness why the bay is such a powerful legacy,” Sarbanes says. “If you have the stature, resources and management focus that the National Park Service brings to bear behind this concept of elevating the bay, it just takes it to a new level.”

The effort to create the draft plan started several years ago, he says. The working group, to date, has been bipartisan, so even with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and Democrats controlling the Senate, he’s optimistic that it’s the type of legislation with a chance to advance in Congress.

For boaters, the day-to-day ramifications of a Chesapeake National Recreation Area being created would potentially include new access to land-based historical and cultural sites. But usage of boats on the bay itself would not change, Sarbanes says. That’s a topic that he says has come up many times in the planning process, and that the lawmakers are attempting to address clearly from the start.

“We’re very explicit in the legislation that it doesn’t authorize any kind of additional regulations when it comes to recreational activity on the bay, on the water, or commercial activities on the waters,” Sarbanes says. “There will not be negative impact on boaters as a result of this. We’ve been very intentional about making sure that this would not negatively affect existing boat traffic, whether you’re talking recreational or commercial.”

According to his office, the working group that created the draft proposal included the National Marine Manufacturers Association, Marine Trades Association of Maryland, American Sportfishing Association and other boating-specific groups. ASA’s Atlantic fisheries policy director, Mike Waine, says creation of the Chesapeake National Recreation Area will help to protect the bay as a natural treasure. “While the bay is an iconic watershed that is home to a wide variety of fish species, it does not have the same protections that other National Recreation Areas have, such as a more simplified process for securing conservation funding and better public access points to the bay. Designating the Chesapeake Bay as a National Recreation Area will help increase public access while also maintaining existing fisheries policies throughout it.”

Waine added that designating the bay as a National Recreation Area “offers unique benefits that are important to conservation efforts. The bill unifies existing recreation areas into one area, which will enhance public access location and provides $6 million annually towards the Chesapeake Gateways Program, an important partnership program that works towards conserving this iconic watershed.”

Over time, once the National Recreation Area is established and the National Park Service starts working to add more historical and cultural sites to it, the scope of the designated area would evolve through an established process that is already used in other parts of the country, according to Sarbanes. “When sites are added, if they are added in the future, it’s all voluntary,” the congressman says. “The National Park Service isn’t going to go in unless all stakeholders are committed and supportive of that in terms of transfer and acquisition.”

A primary goal when selecting historical and cultural sites for inclusion is to tell the story of the Chesapeake Bay itself—including stories of the men and women who have long been connected to its waters. “These sites are almost by definition going to showcase a relationship to the water and the power of the water,” he says. “The story of watermen and water women will be at the heart of so much of this effort.”

One example of such a site is the Burtis House in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s one of the last remaining 19th-century watermen’s cottages in the area, and it’s part of the draft plan to be included. “It has a tremendous history as a place that was supplying and renting out fishing boats and equipment for watermen on the bay, beginning way back in the 1890s,” Sarbanes says. “That’s a powerful story to tell about men and women who make a living on the bay, and it’s exactly what we want to showcase with an effort like this.”

Those types of stories, Sarbanes adds, are what could make a Chesapeake National Recreation Area such a powerful place—not only for local boaters in the bay area, but also for people who visit there, just as they might visit a national park.

“I think we have a real opportunity in this next Congress to get this done and celebrate what the Chesapeake Bay means to so many generations,” he says, “to make sure it’s imprinted on the consciousness not just of people in this region, but also on people coming from all over the country to appreciate this natural, national treasure.” —Kim Kavin

This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue.