Conservation
Conserving sweeping landscapes along the Chesapeake’s Great Rivers—landscapes that evoke a time when John Smith explored the Bay—is a central objective of the Friends. In 2009, the Friends assisted the Conservation Fund in the acquisition of more than 4,500 acres along the John Smith Trail on behalf of the state of Maryland. These historic lands, acquired by the Jesuits in the 17th century, include 20 miles of shoreline on the Potomac River and will provide tourism, recreation, and interpretation opportunities associated with the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake Trail. In addition, the Friends assisted partners to conserve an additional 400 acres on the Trail along the Potomac and Nanticoke Rivers.
Funding remains a key to conservation, and the Friends worked with its partners to help secure $500,000 for the Rappahannock River National Wildlife Refuge (Fones Cliffs); $1 million for the James River National Wildlife Refuge; $2 million for the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (Harriet Tubman). We continue to work towards full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which could support Chesapeake conservation.
Do you have a treasured Chesapeake place? A creek in your town that you like to walk? A tidewater gunkhole perfect for reflection? A favorite landscape you spy on the way to work? A great river reach that's a delight to paddle? If you do, you're like many fellow Chesapeakers.These places connect us to our region. The Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail works to conserve them.
The Chesapeake Bay has changed dramatically since John Smith explored the Bay. Much of the landscape that Smith saw -- forests, wetlands, shorelines and open spaces -- has been heavily altered. Population growth and associated development continue. Yet many treasured landscapes provide visitors with experiences that inspire them to value the Bay.The John Smith Trail provides a focus for efforts to conserve these important places, and we see the opportunity to go beyond the trail's immediate borders to help conserve treasured landscapes throughout the Chesapeake region and along her great rivers.
The Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail will advance the conservation of pristine marshes, riparian forests, islands, beaches, river corridors, and shorelines, as well as working landscapes along the John Smith Trail. It is accomplishing this goal by working with others to create a framework for John Smith Trail acquisitions and for Chesapeake Treasured Landscapes, by increasing funding and by expanding the tools available for conservation. It will increase public access to the lands it helps conserve.
This effort will bolster the Chesapeake's health by conserving vital filters. It will preserve those Chesapeake landscapes that give the bay its beauty and sense of place.
