Senate Panel Passes Bill Making Chesapeake National Recreation Area a National Park Unit

WASHINGTON – The Chesapeake Bay area is one step closer to becoming part of the national parks system.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday passed the Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area Act, moving it onto the Senate floor.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a business meeting Tuesday that passed legislation creating the Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area. (Andrea Durán/Capital News Service)

The measure, sponsored by Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, would create the Chesapeake National Recreation Area in Maryland and Virginia and make it part of a network of sites overseen by the National Park Service.

“In Maryland, we know the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “And creating the Chesapeake National Recreation Area will celebrate that fact while also bringing major benefits to the Bay.”

“Not only will this open up more equitable public access to the Bay, the (Chesapeake National Recreation Act) will also mobilize additional federal support for restoration, shine a light on the untold stories of its history, and support greater economic opportunity in the region,” the senator said.

One of the key goals of making the Chesapeake National Recreation Area part of the national parks system is to boost national pride in the bay and its history, amplifying the stories of historically underrepresented groups such as Indigenous and Black people.

“Today’s bipartisan, unanimous vote was a big step forward in our efforts to pass this historic legislation,” Van Hollen said.

In 2021, Van Hollen and Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes, a Democrat, created a working group to help draft the language for the legislation. The working group included Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and Reps. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, Rob Wittman, R-Virginia, and various conservation groups. Van Hollen and Sarbanes introduced the measure in the Senate and House, respectively, last year. However, the idea of the Chesapeake National Recreation Area dates as far back as the 1980s.

“The Chesapeake Bay is an extraordinary national treasure and a vital resource for our region,” Sarbanes said in a statement. “I am thrilled that the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act has advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – a crucial milestone in our efforts to safeguard the Bay for the well-being and enjoyment of future generations.”

Since the measure’s introduction, several interested parties have submitted letters to Van Hollen in support of the legislation, including Rep.-elect John “Johnny O” Olszewski, Jr., Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

“Thanks to Senator Van Hollen’s leadership, this is a great day for the Chesapeake Bay, with another step forward in the four-decade effort to establish National Park Service recognition for the nation’s largest estuary,” Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn said in a statement. “The Chesapeake Bay is as spectacular as Yellowstone or Yosemite, as great as the Great Smokies and as grand as the Grand Tetons.”

The Chesapeake Recreation Area Act would make the park service take on a larger and more administrative role.

Currently, the National Park Service can partner with and provide assistance to local and regional organizations involved in the bay through the Chesapeake Gateways program and administers some sites along the watershed, including some national monument sites.

If the legislation is enacted, the park service would administer the Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network, which encompasses about 200 places located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

However, the bill states that the Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service, would only acquire land and land-based resources within the recreation area boundaries from voluntary transfers by landowners. The bill also specifically states that the park service has to work with the Department of Transportation to minimize traffic around the bay as well as create an advisory board made up of nine representatives each from Maryland and Virginia.

The management and acquisition of sites would come from the park service’s annual budget under the Department of the Interior, which is approved by Congress.

“Establishing the Chesapeake National Recreation Area expands resources for environmental protection and makes it clear that the United States cherishes the Chesapeake, the birthplace of American identity,” Dunn said. “As a great gift to future generations, this legislation ensures public access to our nation’s largest estuary while providing for the needs of those who live here and depend on the Bay for their livelihood.”

By ANDREA DURÁN
Capital News Service