Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative

What are Chesapeake landscapes?

Blackwater

Great Falls of the Potomac

Lancaster County Pennsylvania

Susquehanna Water Gap

Shenandoah Valley

Eastern Shore

Tidewater Virginia

Tangier Island

Why Treasured?

May 12, 2009

Executive Order 13058: Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration

Expand public access to waters and open spaces of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries

Conserve landscapes and ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed

. . . that merit recognition for their historical, cultural, ecological, or scientific values

Bay States:

Protect 2.3 million

acres

Accessible:

2 % of Bay shoreline

U.S. Department of InteriorNational Park Service

Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Treasured Landscape Initiative

Coordinated by U.S. Department of the Interior, in collaboration with U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Department of Defense

1. Coordinate funding to support state and local landscape conservation and public access

2. Conserve nationally significant landscapes and explore new national parks and refuges

3. Provide incentives and assistance for landscape conservation and public access

4. Foster citizen stewardship

Chesapeake Treasured Landscape InitiativeMajor Elements

1. Support state & local land conservation & public accessCoordinate and target available funding

Coastal & Estuarine Land Conservation

Program

Wetlands Reserve Program

Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program

Anticipated increases in LWCF

1. Support state & local land conservation & public accessIdentify and prioritize landscapes – land conservation database

1. Support state & local land conservation & public accessIdentify and prioritize landscapes – Conduct Landscape Survey

1. Support state & local land conservation & public accessIdentify and prioritize public access – regional needs assessment & plan

A “next generation” Chesapeake Bay National Park?

2. Protect N.S. landscapes and explore new federal unitsExplore creating new national parks, trails, refuges, authorities

New national wildlife refuges?

Chesapeake marine protected areas?

2. Protect N.S. landscapes and explore new federal unitsProtect key resources and provide access at existing units

3. Provide incentives and assistanceProvide technical assistance and capacity building

4. Foster citizen stewardshipExplore creating a Chesapeake Conservation Corps

4. Foster citizen stewardshipExpand public education

4. Foster citizen stewardshipEnhance place-based stewardship interpretation

http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net/category/Reports-Documents.aspx

Chesapeake Treasured Landscape InitiativeDraft Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay

Landscape Conservation & Public Access in the Chesapeake Region