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By definition, an estuary is an aquatic area where a freshwater stream or river meets the ocean; as such, the salty seawater mixes with freshwater, resulting in brackish water, which contains salt content but isn't quite as salty as the ocean. The United States is home to thousands of these water bodies; however, size-wise, The Chesapeake Bay wins.
More than 41 million acres are connected to the waters flowing to and through the Chesapeake Bay — the largest estuary in the United States (also home to what's said to be the scariest bridge in the US) whose watershed extends around 524 miles from Cooperstown, New York, all the way to Norfolk, Virginia.
The water is also a part of six individual states; these are Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, and the whole District of Columbia. Despite the Chesapeake Bay on a map looking colossally impressive, its significant scale isn't the focal point — it's this epic natural feature's potential status as a brand-new national park in the US.
Is Chesapeake Bay A National Park?
Currently, Chesapeake Bay isn't a national park — but it could be welcomed into the US national park system soon, therein an opportunity to bring federal resources, increase public access, and, perhaps most beneficial of all to the natural environment, more conservation initiatives.
Will Chesapeake Bay Become A National Park?
Given the latest Chesapeake Bay news, it stands a good chance of becoming America's next national park. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. John Sarbanes — both of whom are Maryland Democrats — intend to instigate legislation in the next session with Congress to include the bay into the United States' national park system. Interestingly, retired United States senator, former General Assembly member, and father of Rep. John Sarbanes — Paul Sarbanes — was also instrumental in the bay's conservancy efforts in his career, during which he worked with the NPS Chesapeake Gateways and Watetrails Program.
Sarbanes and Van Hollen will welcome public comment on the proposal for 90 days. A final version of the bill will be submitted during the next legislative conference, expected in 2023. If their plan goes ahead successfully, it could render the Chesapeake Bay one of the most important landscapes in the country — a status enabling federal funding for conservation, tourism promotion, and public access facilitation within the bay's whopping 64,000 square miles of watershed.
In an interview, Van Hollen said the project took decades of ideation and planning, only recently coming into close realization in the last couple of years, with particular thanks to representatives from over 30 organizations, lawmakers, and various stakeholders all part of a working group to explore the possibility of a National Park Service designation.
This coalition included state officials, the state's congressional delegation, and nonprofits, all of whom collectively conjured guiding principles for potential federal legislation. Members of the congressional delegation of Maryland also support the federal designation, which would spotlight key areas of interest dotted around the bay.
What Would The Chesapeake Bay National Park Legislation Do?
The draft legislation would create the Chesapeake National Recreation Area — connecting important sites around the Bay that would fall under the Park Service. The legislation's guiding principles include boosting tourism, highlighting the history of Indigenous people and the enslaved and freed Black Marylanders, and improving the restoration initiatives of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Additionally, it would bring together and emphasize key places of interest around the Chesapeake Bay, highlighting exploration points and locations of designation that remain important to the bay’s historical, cultural, and ecological significance.
Currently, there are four main proposed sites for designation, which the Park Service may be authorized to acquire — be it via donation or through a voluntary sale. These sites are:
- Burtis House — a waterman’s residence built around 1880 in the City Dock area of Annapolis. In more recent times, the residence was the home of the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
- Whitehall Manor — an elegant building constructed in 1746, which Maryland’s last provincial governor, Horatio Sharpe, occupied.
- Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse — a rare and unique structure built in 1875 resembling an old cottage on stilts.
- 122 acres of Fort Monroe’s North Beach — the site where ships enslaved Africans first arrived in 1619.
Furthermore, the legistlative guiding principles affirm the opt-in operative of the recreational area designation; some site owners with properties along the bay's lengthy shoreline may wish to remain un-included in the designated area, which the proposed plan reportedly supports. Still, the National Park Service could absorb some properties to augment public access to the shoreline, around 90% of which is privately owned.
If the proposition for the Chesapeake Bay as a national park is accepted, lawmakers hope the positive outcome would see tourism soar, boost the cultural and historical awareness of the area, and promote water conservancy. In a menacing time when overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction threaten the natural environment and wildlife that call Chesapeake Bay home, the latter hoped-for benefit could be one of the most important.
Still, the state intends to uphold fishing and water-use regulations — but would aim to do so in a more eco-friendly manner. Typically, camping in US national parks is also permitted, provided people follow guidelines and purchase appropriate permits — as such, it's hoped that visitors would be allowed to do so in Chesapeake, too.
“We all know that the Chesapeake Bay is a natural treasure and a national treasure,” Sarbanes said in a recent press conference announcing the Chesapeake Bay's proposition as a national park. “Having the opportunity for the park service to create a unit that lifts up the bay is something we don’t want to miss.”
Until the next session in Congress, the United States awaits to find out if it will indeed birth a new national park — one with a great ecological, cultural, and historical weight that American citizens across the nation cherish dearly. If the bid comes to fruition, that's one more protected jewel to add to the country's belt to be preserved for many generations to come, enjoyed by residents of the region, day-tripping tourists, and travelers seeking adventurous overnight national park getaways.
Last but not least, with its prime and picturesque location stretched across the states of New York and Virginia, the successful designation of Chesapeake Bay would undoubtedly find itself catapulted among the national parks with stunning fall foliage — hands down.