The Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network is a partnership program of the National Park Service and a system of over 150 parks, refuges, museums, historic communities and water trails in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. As a partnership program, it is not considered a Unit of the National Park System, but is managed by the National Park Service's Chesapeake Bay Office in Annapolis, Maryland, which also manages the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.[1][2]
| Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network | |
|---|---|
  Map of the United States  Chesapeake Gateways (the United States) | |
| Location | Chesapeake Bay shoreline |
| Nearest city | Annapolis, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 37°19′20″N 76°15′12″W / 37.32212°N 76.25336°W |
| Established | 1998 |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Sites in the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed are eligible to participate in the Network, including sites in the Potomac River basin out to West Virginia and sites in the Susquehanna River basin out to New York State.
History
editThe Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network, originally the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, was established through the authority of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act, which was passed by the United States Congress in 1998 in order "to establish a linked network of locations, such as parks, historic seaports, or museums—known as gateways—where the public can access and experience the bay," according to a 2006 report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). This initiative has been supported through grants provided by the U.S. National Park Service (Park Service). GAO personnel undertook preparation of that report in 2005 in response to concerns expressed by members of the U.S. Congress regarding the National Park Service's management of the gateways network.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Multi-State: Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network." Washington, D.C. National Park Service, retrieved online February 4, 2023.
- ^ "Chesapeake Gateways Network." Washington, D.C. National Park Service, retrieved online February 4, 2023.
- ^ "Chesapeake Bay Gateways Program: National Park Service Needs Better Accountability and Oversight of Grantees and Gateways." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 14, 2006.
External links
edit- Chesapeake Bay Office. National Park Service website.