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'Gateways' to offer new ways to visit Bay
Bay Gateways Network's future in jeopardy as funds are eliminated
Tilghman Island arrowheads may point to Bay's earliest visitors
The National Park Service director, during a recent trip to Annapolis, indicated that there is continued support for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network but stopped short of endorsing a new National Park focused on the Bay.
The remarks appeared to reflect the recommendations of a Park Service study completed last year that called for incorporating the Gateways Network as a unit in the National Park system.
But the report, by Park Service staff, stopped short of calling for an all-new park focused on the Bay or its watershed after examining numerous alternatives, in part because no suitable area or community stepped forward as a host site.
“Everything doesn’t need to become a national park,” Park Service Director Fran Mainella told the Annapolis Capital in May during a visit that included several Gateway sites. “We believe in working with the partners and strengthening the partnership.”
The Gateways Network is a partnership of 147 wildlife refuges, state parks, museums and other sites that represent various historical, cultural or natural aspects of the Chesapeake Bay region. It is coordinated by the Park Service, although the agency’s role is set to expire in 2008.
The study called for the Park Service to continue to oversee the network, and to construct two visitor centers, in partnership with other organizations, to help introduce visitors to major Bay themes. Although the study was completed last year, the Department of the Interior, which includes the Park Service, has not made its final recommendation from the study and sent it to Congress.
Meanwhile, the Gateways Network recently announced the addition of seven sites, including George Washington's boyhood home and one of the world's largest urban parks.
The new Gateways are:
District of Columbia
Rock Creek National Park: Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., Rock Creek Park includes Rock Creek and its tributaries from the Maryland line to the Potomac River, as well as more than 3,000 acres of cultural and natural resources related to the Potomac watershed. These include Native American quarry sites; Peirce Mill, a 19th century grist mill on Rock Creek; and miles of streambanks with native vegetation. More than 2 million people visit Park-managed sites each year
Maryland
Dogwood Harbor: Located on Tilghman Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Dogwood Harbor is a commercial hub dedicated to local watermen. It houses one of the largest remaining fleets of skipjacks and several commercial workboats and rigs. Visitors learn about the boats, watermen and generations of families who have lived on and off the Bay.
Jones Falls Trail: Located in Baltimore, the Jones Falls Trail, which opened its first phase in 2004, offers access to an urban Chesapeake tributary. The trail’s visitors learn about this area's significance in the history of the Chesapeake, including mills, waterways and other sites related to settlement and economic development in the watershed. When completed, the trail will connect 10 miles of parks and communities and provide greater access to the Jones Falls, from the Robert E. Lee Dam to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.
New York
Susquehanna Headwaters River Trails Partnership: The Upper Susquehanna River is the northernmost headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay, and this developing water trail—ultimately nearly 328 miles long—will connect visitors not only to the water, but also to dozens of parks, natural areas and historic sites. The water trail will include the mainstem (Pennsylvania line to Cooperstown), the Chenango, Tioughnioga, Otselic, and Unadilla.
Virginia
George Washington’s Ferry Farm: Located in Fredericksburg, Ferry Farm includes historic farmlands with frontage along the Rappahannock River, archeological study sites related to Washington's boyhood era, and an earlier homestead site dating back to the early 18th century. Costumed interpreters welcome visitors, teaching them about the farm, its agrarian landscape, access to the Rappahannock, and the intricacies of living and working in the Bay watershed in the 18th century.
Lawrence Lewis Jr. Park: Located in Charles City, this 24-acre community park, situated on a tidal section of the James River, provides the only public water access on the north side of the James from Henrico County to James City County. The park’s history includes the Weyanoke Indians, who owned the land when the first Europeans landed at Jamestown. Today, the park provides a natural setting for visitors to observe and enjoy the diverse woodland, wetland and shoreline ecologies. It is home to a large concentration of bald eagles in the winter and osprey in the summer.
Shenandoah River State Park: Located in Bentonville in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the park is situated on the eastern bank of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, a key transportation route in the 19th century for upstream farms and iron mines to the port cities on the Bay. It comprises more than 1,600 acres of woodlands, meadows and pastoral lands along the South Fork. Visitors can hike 14 miles of multiple use trails, access the water for paddling and canoeing or picnic in natural settings. Cultural sites within the park include Native American archeology and a historic Civil War era river crossing used by Stonewall Jackson during the battle of Front Royal.
