The President's bold stroke for conserving Chesapeake landscapes

By David O'Neill

05/19/2009

The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration executive order signed by President Barack Obama last week (May 12th) is the most assertive act a President has yet taken to protect and restore the bay. It is remarkable for another reason as well. It puts the conservation of landscapes and ecosystems on an equal footing with restoring water quality, and recognizes the immense cultural and ecological value of the Chesapeake's treasured landscapes.

President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar understand that we must conserve the watershed's intact ecosystems and restore others in order for the Chesapeake Bay to fully recover. They understand a bay without these landscapes would never provide the diverse habitats that lead to productive fisheries or the immense filtering capacities needed for healthy waters. They know that a bay watershed without intact forests and marshes, or long sweeps of undeveloped shorelines, or the watermen's communities that define the region, will be no Chesapeake at all.

The President's order instructs Salazar's department to lead the effort to identify landscapes and ecosystems "that merit recognition for their historical, cultural, ecological, or scientific values" and employ strategies to conserve them. It notes this work should be coordinated with state and local governments and with the new Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the Star Spangled Banner Trail, and other programs in the region. The order also directs federal agencies to look at all their lands and find new opportunities for public access to the bay.

Both more access and a stronger effort to conserve ecosystems and landscapes will greatly benefit the public and the bay.

Despite the Chesapeake's national significance, its ecological, scenic, wild and historic landscapes are not sufficiently protected. More than 90,000 acres (nearly 150 square miles) of open land are consumed annually by growth in the bay states. Maryland alone could lose 700,000 acres (an area 10 times the size of the City of Baltimore) of valuable agricultural and forest land in the next 25 years. At least 36 percent of the region's forestland is at risk over the next five to 10 years. From 1990 to 2000, impervious surfaces, including roads, parking lots and roof tops, increased by 41 percent across the bay region affecting the health of our communities' streams and rivers. Indeed, impervious cover is growing at a rate that is five times greater than the rate of population growth. And although the bay and its rivers have thousands of miles of shoreline, only about two percent are open to the public.

Nevertheless, there are still considerable parts of the bay that retain the character of the region even as Capt. John Smith might have encountered it. And there are equally compelling stories to be told to a public thirsting for authenticity and a relation to the landscape.

The Department of Interior, working with other Federal, state and local agencies and non-profit organizations, has the expertise to be the leadership partner in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystems and landscapes. The National Park Service, one of Interior's agencies, has broad experience in landscape level protection, ecosystem partnerships, recreation, interpretation, education and heritage tourism that, if brought to bear, can help save the bay's natural and cultural heritage and provide increased recreational and stewardship opportunities for all citizens.

Given the authority granted by the President's new order, the participation of state, local and private entities, and adequate resources, the public may achieve an expansion of access to the bay and the conservation of the significant and treasured landscapes that define the region's identity and create its rich ecosystems.

But this "given" is not a given. Times are tough and resources limited. Federal agencies are stretched thin. State and local governments are focused on maintaining basic services. No extra money accompanied the Executive Order.

So we, the citizens of the bay's watershed, must be vigilant and pursue opportunities to support President Obama and Secretary Salazar by working hand-in-hand with our congressional leaders, state officials and local partners to make this work a priority and a reality.

A healthy bay is built on intact ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems spring from the conservation of landscapes. We benefit from productive fisheries, clean air and water, and increased economic opportunity from sustainable resource-based economies and tourism.

Ultimately, protecting and restoring the Chesapeake's treasured landscapes protects and restores the health of our whole, mid-Atlantic region and leads to a richer life for all of us.

David O'Neill is President of the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail, a regional nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the significant landscapes of the Chesapeake and advancing the goals of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.