U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) joins conservation officials and other lawmakers to announce draft legislation that could designate the Chesapeake Bay region a National Recreation Area.
Time is running out for supporters of a bill creating a Chesapeake National Recreational Area to get the measure across the finish line before the next Congress is seated in January.
Backers had cause for cheer Nov. 19 when the bill was voted out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, opening the legislation to a potential full floor vote.
But the House version remained mired in committee as of that date. Approval by both chambers is necessary before any bill can be handed up to the president for approval or a veto.
If the current “lame duck” session fails to enact the bill, it would have to be reintroduced and start the legislative process anew under a new Congress.
And the effort would have to trudge forward without one of its biggest advocates. U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, the Democrat from Maryland who introduced the House bill in July 2023, is retiring at the end of this session.
The designation, supporters say, would increase equitable access to the Bay and celebrate its cultural and historical resources. If approved, the bill would create the recreational area under the operation of the National Park Service.
The recreation area could begin with up to four sites as its initial offerings.
These include the Burtis House, an 1800s-era waterman’s house on the Annapolis waterfront; the historic Whitehall mansion on Maryland’s Broadneck Peninsula; the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, whose pilings rise from the Bay just south of the Bay Bridge; and the North Beach of Virginia’s Fort Monroe.
Those and future sites could only be added if the Park Service acquires them through voluntary donations or purchases from a willing seller, according to the bill. The newly amended bill creates a unique authority for the Park Service to study potential future sites once they have been recommended by an advisory commission without requiring congressional approval. The purchases would still need an act of Congress.
Other parks throughout the coverage area could voluntarily participate in the program, giving them access to additional federal resources.
A July 2022 public opinion poll found that 83% of respondents from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia were in favor of establishing the area. If it’s created, the Chesapeake would join a long list of national recreational areas, including Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam; the islands of Boston Harbor; and Mount Rogers, Virginia’s highest point.
link