What We Do

National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways (NPS Chesapeake Gateways) manages the Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network (Chesapeake Gateways), as directed by the Chesapeake Initiative Act of 1998. NPS Chesapeake Gateways is centrally located in Annapolis, Maryland where it serves Chesapeake Gateways Places and Partners throughout the 41-million-acre Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Vision

We envision a broad network of conserved lands and special places providing access to recreation, history, and nature; sharing Chesapeake stories, sustaining ecological and cultural functions; benefitting communities and visitors; and engaging a deep stewardship movement.

Mission

Through Chesapeake Gateways-

• We inspire and help people discover, experience, and connect with the natural and cultural heritage and recreational opportunities of the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers, landscapes, and communities across its watershed.

• We work with people and partners to conserve and steward special places important to communities, visitors, and the nation, for this and future generations.

Goals

Enhance interpretation and education of the natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers, landscapes, and communities across its watershed.

Facilitate an integrated approach to interpreting the themes and stories of the Chesapeake Bay watershed through the many Chesapeake Gateways Places. Help visitors explore, enjoy, and better connect with these places in the context of the Bay and its watershed.

Facilitate broad access to the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s natural, cultural and recreational resources.

Help people discover and access the special places of the Chesapeake Bay watershed through a system of Chesapeake Gateways Places. This system enhances access both through orienting people to the region’s special places and through support for improvements to the visitor experience at those places.

Promote conservation, restoration, and stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources.

Chesapeake Gateways plays a key role in the broad collaborative effort to conserve, protect, and restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Experiences at Chesapeake Gateways Places stimulate public appreciation and involvement in conservation, restoration, and stewardship.

Strengthen the Network

Facilitate collaboration among Chesapeake Gateways Places and Partners; carry out initiatives and programs that advance goals and strategies, and assist partners in their efforts to identify, interpret, educate about, provide access to, conserve and restore important natural, cultural and recreational resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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  Basic Information

  Not sure where to begin? See how you can connect with the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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  Management

  NPS Chesapeake Gateways administers, manages, and participates in multiple Chesapeake partnerships.

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  Work With Us

  Meet our team, learn about job vacancies, or volunteer opportunities, or discover how to partner with NPS Chesapeake Gateways.