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Captain John Smith Trail Legislation
On December 19, 2006, President George W. Bush signed legislation establishing the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail - the first national water trail in the United States. The trail will commemorate the exploratory voyages of Captain Smith on the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries in 1607-1609.
Administered by the National Park Service, the trail will provide significant opportunities for education, recreation and heritage tourism in the Bay region. The National Park Service will administer the trail in coordination with the existing Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network adn the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program that is leading efforts to restore the estuary.
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Management Plan
With extensive public input, the National Park Service will develop a comprehensive management plan for the new trail beginning in 2007. Working with a broad partnership, including the Conservation Fund, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and many others throughout the region, the National Park Service will develop and manage the first national water trail under the auspices of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
Comprehensive Management Plan
The National Park Service (NPS) prepares a variety of planning and environmental documents to help guide it in managing park resources. These documents can range from site-specific impact analyses on facility locations to broader park-wide plans for future use and management of a park. The NPS places a high value on public participation and strives to encourage participation in all aspects of environmental decision-making.
The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is beginning the two-year process of developing a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). The purpose of the CMP is to establish the administrative objectives, policies, processes, and managment actions needed to fulfill the preservation and public use goals of the CAJO under the authorities of the National Trails System Act, as amended (16 USC 1241-1251). A CMP for a national historic trail provides a framework for a wide range of partnership activities that are possible and desirable to provide for public use and understanding of trail history and for appreciation of trail resources. The primary source of information throughout the planning process will be the National Park Service's Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site. This site provides access to current plans, environmental impact analyses, and related documents. Users of the site can submit comments for documents available for public review.
Visit this site.
Interpretive Planning
Through a collaborative process involving trail partners, agencies, Gateways, tribes, community organizations, and others, the National Park Service is developing the Interpretive Plan for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. The Interpretive Plan will provide a vision for the future of interpretation and education for the trail and define long-term goals for meaningful connections between visitors and Bay resources.
The planning process identifies trail audiences, interpretive themes, and strategies for achieving desired visitor experiences. The plan will be a guiding document with reference information that Gateways and other providers can use to develop visitor experiences along the trail.
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