Credit: Karl Blankenship, BayJournal
The Chesapeake Bay is often called a national treasure, but a new study will explore whether it might end up in the same league as such gems as Yellowstone and Yosemite.
The National Park Service is launching a study that will recommend by next spring whether some form of national park or related designation should be created to highlight the Bay and its natural and cultural history.
Park Service officials are seeking views from the public, beginning with a series of workshops in September, about what a Chesapeake Bay unit of the National Park System might look like, and what types of resources or places might be included in such a park — if one were created.
Ultimately, the “special resources study,” which was requested by Congress, will recommend whether the Park Service has the potential to tell a broader story about the Bay than what is already being done at other state, federal and nonprofit museums and natural reserves. The creation of any new park system unit, however, would require legislation passed by Congress and signed by the president.
“Few would argue that the Bay as a whole is not nationally significant,” said Jonathan Doherty, who is heading the study for the Park Service. “But there are more criteria than that.”
Indeed, to become a National Park Service “unit,” the Bay faces big hurdles. The most basic requirement is that the resource to be protected is of “national significance” and not being adequately protected and interpreted for the public by other agencies or organizations.
This means any new unit must represent what is significant about the Bay and go beyond what is currently being done by others — in effect, the study is looking for gaps in the Chesapeake story.
“The intent of the special resource study is to look to see if there is some resource or concept that is so important that it merits being part of the park system and that it really reflects the essence of the Chesapeake Bay,” Doherty said.
The Park Service already has three units close to the Bay — Fort McHenry National Monument, Colonial National Historical Park and George Washington’s Birthplace National Monument. But the main focus of those sites is on other stories and resources, not the Bay itself.
The Park Service also coordinates the recently created Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, which is a linked series of more than 100 natural, historic, recreational and cultural sites.
Each site, most of which are managed by organizations other than the Park Service, highlights a specific part of the Chesapeake “story” — whether it be the role of a wetland, an early Bay settlement, the role of watermen or Bay-inspired art.
Taken as a whole, the network is intended to provide visitors with a broad understanding of the Bay and how it has influenced human activities and how, in turn, it has been affected by humans.
If a new Park Service unit were created, Doherty said, it would not replace the Gateways Network. “The Gateways Network is a broad assemblage of geographically and thematically diverse sites that recognizes at its core that the Bay is so big and diverse that a full understanding of the Bay and a full experience of the Bay comes best through multiple sites,” he said.
But a new park could complement the network by giving visitors a broad overview of the Bay at a single location. It might not necessarily be a park. It could be a natural reserve, historic site or recreation area — there are more than 20 types of park system units nationwide. The study can explore a range of options.
The options for how units of the National Park System are managed are equally broad. While some parks, like Yellowstone, are federally owned and managed, many newer units rely on partnerships with communities and may have little Park Service land ownership.
The Bay study is unusual in that the Park Service usually conducts a special resource study once a potential natural, historical or cultural site has been identified. In the Chesapeake study, no specific site — or specific theme — has been identified for study.
The Bay itself is too large to be proposed as a national park, so the study will look at concepts for smaller areas that illustrate the broader Chesapeake story and would include examples of the region’s historical, cultural and natural elements. Park Service officials say they have no specific places in mind. But during the study period, they hope that Bay-related communities, or the owners of Bay-related resources or areas, come forward with ideas about how they might fit into a park.
“This is truly an exploration,” Doherty said. “We want to know what people think of the idea of a Bay unit of the National Park System, both generally and specifically. What might it be like? Is it something that could help celebrate and conserve the Bay? Does it make sense?”
The Park Service has outlined several initial concepts as a starting point for discussions. They include:
o Conserving a historical area or reserve focused on a traditional working Bay community. Such a town could highlight the relationship between communities and the Bay as an economic and natural resource. This might be similar to places such as New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts, which covers a 13-block area, most of which is privately owned, although the Park Service operates a visitor center and works with the community to interpret 19th century whaling life.
o Conserving an ecological preserve, which might include a small area of the estuary that is largely intact and could serve as an example of the Bay as a whole. The primary focus would be on interpreting estuarine resources and natural systems from an aquatic perspective. This might be similar to Biscayne National Park in Florida which protects reefs, sunken ships and other underwater resources in Biscayne Bay.
o Conserving in tandem a community and a section of the Bay as an ecological and cultural reserve. Such a reserve would focus both on the water and the surrounding lands to illustrate human interactions with the Bay.
o Conserving a representative watershed that would help illustrate, in microcosm, the relationship between upland areas, tributaries and the Bay, as well as the stewardship challenges in managing watersheds.
o Establishing a single, or series, of Bay interpretive centers that would provide focal points in telling the “whole” Chesapeake story and serve as a central clearinghouse for visitors, researchers, educators and others who want to learn more about the Bay. This might be similar to the Museum of Western Expansion, located under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, or the series of museums along the Oregon and other western migration trails, which help explain a large story covering a huge area.
o Conserve a system of uninhabited islands in the Bay, with links to nearby inhabited islands, to protect and interpret diverse natural and cultural sites. The focus would be on providing visitors with an “on the Bay” experience while interpreting island resources and diverse natural systems in a relatively small area. This might be similar to Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, which covers about 30 islands in the harbor.
It’s probable that other ideas may come forward that are worth examining, Doherty said. “The initial concepts are just starting points for discussion. We need people’s good thinking on this and we fully expect the concepts to change with public input.”
If the study concludes that a park unit is warranted, he said the study will most likely recommend the concept that should be pursued, but not evaluate any specific sites. But, he added, the report may mention any places that come forward during the study process which may fit a particular concept. Doherty said it is possible that a concept would be chosen, but no suitable places come forward during or soon after the study process.
“Our intent with the study is to provide a framework, in a fairly detailed way, for Congress in cooperation with the administration to subsequently evaluate whether a particular place fits the recommended concept, at whatever time in the future that occurs.” Doherty said.
The draft report is expected this winter, with a final document available for submission to Congress next summer.
Park Service officials hope that people throughout the region will participate in the study through public workshops or by sending comments, suggestions and ideas via the study’s web site. “We really need broad involvement in considering this question,” Doherty said, “There is no substitute for the creative and informed thoughts of those who truly know and care about the Bay.”
For information about the study, visit http://www.chesapeakestudy.org/
Posted: 10-2-2002
