Chesapeake Gateways is a system of places offering opportunities to explore, learn about, and support the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Included in Chesapeake Gateways are iconic national parks and natural, cultural, historical, and recreational sites, trails, museums, parks, refuges, interpretive and orientation facilities, and associated programs. These places, and Chesapeake Gateways as a whole, serve as entry points and the key guide for experiencing the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The NPS supports the Chesapeake Gateways Network through two formal annual assistance offerings. Chesapeake Gateways Grants are competitive financial assistance opportunities normally open for application in late summer, early fall each year. Through this annual opportunity, the NPS provides approximately $1 million in financial assistance. In addition, the NPS provides an annual technical assistance program. Through this offering, the NPS serves as a collaborative partner, providing professional services to help Chesapeake Gateways Places and Partners achieve their vision.
The National Park Service convenes and assists the network through its office in Annapolis, Maryland (NPS Chesapeake Gateways), staffed by dedicated NPS employees.
This Framework updates and supersedes the original Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Framework published in 2000 and the update published in 2021. Based on this Framework, separate strategic plans and annual work plans will set out specific strategies and objectives for implementation over increments of 3-5 years and 1 year, respectively. In addition, other supplemental documents may set out more detailed procedures, guidelines, or criteria for various initiatives.
A Concise History of Chesapeake Gateways
Origins of Chesapeake Gateways
The work to conserve, interpret, and provide access to the Chesapeake spans decades and involves hundreds of individuals, organizations, and agencies. Contemporary initiatives to protect the Bay have their roots in the late 1970s, when U.S. Senator Charles “Mac” Mathias sponsored a Congressionally funded, five-year study to analyze the Bay’s rapid loss of wildlife and aquatic life. The study, published in the early 1980s, identified excess nutrient pollution as the main source of the Bay’s degradation. These initial research findings led to the formation of the Chesapeake Bay Program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency as the primary means to coordinate restoration.
In the early 1990s, U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes asked the National Park Service to study ways to recognize and link natural, cultural, and recreational sites around the Chesapeake into a “necklace of pearls.” At that time, the National Park Service recognized that no single site could adequately represent the complex and diverse resources of the bay. Instead, participation in the Chesapeake Bay Program and the establishment of a program of financial and technical assistance were proposed as ways for the National Park Service to assist in enhancing public access and understanding of the Chesapeake.
Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act
In 1998, Congress passed the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act, authorizing the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. The Act directed the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to provide technical and financial assistance, in cooperation with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit organizations and the private sector -
a) to identify, conserve, restore and interpret natural, recreational, historical and cultural resources within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed;
b) to identify and utilize the collective resources as Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites for enhancing public education of and access to the Chesapeake Bay;
c) to link the Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites with trails, tour roads, scenic byways and other connections as determined by the Secretary;
d) to develop and establish Chesapeake Bay Watertrails comprising water routes and connections to Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites and other land resources within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; and
e) to create a network of Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites and Chesapeake Bay Watertrails.
The Act provided that components of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network may include:
a) state or Federal parks or refuges;
b) historic seaports;
c) archaeological, cultural, historical, or recreational sites; or
d) other public access and interpretive sites.
The Act also provided authority to establish a formal Chesapeake Bay Gateways Grants Assistance Program to aid State and local governments, local communities, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector in conserving, restoring, and interpreting important historic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This portion of the Act, once implemented, includes a 50/50 federal/non-federal match requirement. This additional section provides further opportunities for the National Park Service to support the network through financial assistance.
Establishing Chesapeake Gateways
Implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act began in 1999. The original Framework outlined the goals, geography, and structure of Chesapeake Gateways, setting out interpretive themes and identifying early initiatives. The first Chesapeake Gateways Places were recognized that same month. Over the next several years, Chesapeake Gateways grew rapidly to include over 160 recognized Chesapeake Gateways Places by 2005.
Chesapeake Gateways Places came together in regional workshops and annual partner meetings. A comprehensive website was launched, providing visitor information on all Chesapeake Gateways Places. A brochure was widely distributed, and various thematic interpretive products were developed. NPS Chesapeake Gateways provided members with technical and financial assistance, helping support partner work from interpretive planning to exhibits and signage to water trail development and public access site construction.
A Call for Chesapeake Gateways Permanence and New NPS Units
The Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act originally authorized funding for Chesapeake Gateways through 2003. The Act has since been amended numerous times to extend the authorization in various one-year, two-year and five-year increments. Funding has been provided every fiscal year since 1999.
Responding to another congressional request in 2004, the National Park Service completed a study evaluating the suitability and feasibility of authorizing a new unit of the National Park System to protect and interpret the Chesapeake. In addition to evaluating Chesapeake Gateways, the 2004 “special resource study” considered several alternative park unit concepts. Extensive consultation with a wide range of interested individuals, organizations, and agenciestook place during the study, generating more than 3,000 comments.
-
the Chesapeake is a nationally significant resource;
-
a permanent watershed-wide system of special places for experiencing the Chesapeake, accomplished by enhancing and building upon the existing Chesapeake Gateways, would be the most efficient and effective approach to advancing public understanding and enjoyment of Chesapeake resources and stimulating resource conservation; and
-
a unit of the National Park System encompassing one or more of several alternatives could make a significant contribution to protection and public enjoyment of the Chesapeake Bay.
Since completion of the study, several new NPS units and national trails have been added in the Chesapeake region. Two national trails, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail, were administered from 2007 to 2018 and 2009 to 2014, respectively, by NPS Chesapeake Gateways. These trails are now managed by other NPS units and in 2018-2019, NPS Chesapeake Gateways refocused on its core mission: the Chesapeake Gateways Network.
Updating the Framework
The original Framework adopted in 2000 outlined for Chesapeake Gateways a vision, goals, a geographic and thematic focus, a structure for participating in Chesapeake Gateways, and strategies for supporting the Chesapeake Gateways Network. These organizing principles generally remained useful and effective in guiding the 2021 Updated Framework. A variety of changes had implications for Chesapeake Gateways’ future and merited consideration in updating the 2021 Framework through a refresh of NPS Chesapeake Gateway at large. That refresh, with feedback from partners, has provided the National Park Service with clarity to develop this revised document, grounding the network’s operation in its core functions as directed by Congress through the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998.
Places
Described here are the places designations associated with Chesapeake Gateways.
Communities
...provide a host of opportunities for people to experience multi-faceted Chesapeake resources and stories and they encourage further exploration.
Sites
...are primary individual destinations to which people are directed to access, experience, enjoy, learn about, and contribute to a particular natural, cultural, historical, or recreational resource illustrative of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Water Trails
...provide water-based recreational experiences for boaters and, in the case of longer trails, may serve as physical and programmatic connections between multiple Chesapeake Gateways Communities and sites.
Byways and Trails
...link multiple communities and sites providing thematic or geographic approaches to exploring Chesapeake Gateways. Land trails serve as walking, hiking and biking routes.
Heritage Areas and Landscapes
...include a variety of the types of places described above and, in effect, are regional networks of significance to local communities that also participate in Chesapeake Gateways.
Public Water Access Sites
...usually focus on recreational opportunities with minimal interpretive information on site.
Communities
These communities are where a combination of geography, location, transportation systems, economic uses, and services welcome people within the watershed. They provide a host of opportunities for people to experience multi-faceted Chesapeake resources and stories, and they encourage further exploration.
Defining Characteristics:
- Relationship to the Chesapeake—A major entry point to the Chesapeake Bay watershed serving as a destination and a launching point to other Chesapeake Gateways Places
- Geography— Located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Assets and Amenities—Include natural, recreational, historical, and cultural Chesapeake Gateways Places within or adjacent to the community that are associated with authentic and iconic Chesapeake Bay watershed principal themes and provide public access to those places
- Programming and Interpretation—Engage visitors through services, resources, activities, and events to introduce them to local and Chesapeake Gateways principal themes and foster exploring, learning about, and stewarding the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Visitor Services—Develop and provide an outstanding welcoming orientation for visitors to Chesapeake Gateways
- Marketing and Communications—Utilize multimedia tools and tactics to invite and orient residents and visitors to local Chesapeake Gateways Places, related programming and interpretation, and visitor services associated with authentic and iconic Chesapeake Bay watershed principal themes
- Commitment and Capacity—Embrace a commitment to linking nature-based and cultural tourism of Chesapeake Gateways Places with economic initiatives for local resiliency and community sustainability, especially tied with sectors closely linked with Chesapeake heritage
Residents and visitors encounter a wide range of cultural, natural, and recreational experiences at multiple locations throughout Chesapeake Gateways Communities.
Chesapeake Gateways Places within designated communities orient visitors to the possibilities of authentic Chesapeake experiences and introduce principal interpretive themes. Interpretive materials, exhibits, activities, or programs at other individual sites explore principal and sub-themes relevant to those places. Chesapeake Gateways Communities make it easy for people to navigate and tour from place to place. They provide information, programmatic links, and physical connections, such as walking routes, water links, and more. Chesapeake Gateways Communities embrace resiliency, conservation, and sustainability through economic initiatives, programming, and communications to enhance overall Chesapeake stewardship.
Through the Chesapeake Gateways Communities Initiative, NPS Chesapeake Gateways provides a programmatic self-assessment for communities based on these defining characteristics that are the essential building blocks for a community to meaningfully serve those seeking to engage with the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Sites
These are the primary individual destinations to which people are directed to access, experience, enjoy, learn about, and contribute to a particular natural, cultural, historical,or recreational resource illustrative of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Sites always provide access for people to have authentic experiences with the resource itself.
Typical examples include: national and state parks, state and national wildlife refuges and management areas, museums, historic sites or districts, historic seaports, natural areas, and interpretive facilities related to Chesapeake themes.
Defining Characteristics:
- Located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Have a dedicated focus on places to which people are directed to access, experience, enjoy, learn about, and contribute to a particular Chesapeake-related natural, cultural, historical, or recreational resource and its role in the overall Chesapeake story
- Engage visitors through programming centered around at least one Chesapeake Gateways principal theme
- Owned or managed by a public agency (unit of local, state, or federal government), state or federally recognized tribe or nation, non-profit organization, or private sector entity
- Primary purpose of site management is conservation, interpretation, education, and/or recreation
- Open to public visitation for regularly scheduled daily or weekly hours throughout the visitor season
- Have sufficient visitor information to support a www.nps.gov/Chesapeake listing
At sites, visitors encounter Chesapeake resources and the chance to learn specific stories and information pertaining to the Chesapeake themes to which the site relates. They find interpretive materials, exhibits, or programs telling these stories and placing them in broader context, including noting other related sites. Sites provide direct, physical public access to their resources and welcoming orientation materials to facilitate that use. Many sites have on-going conservation and restoration missions and programs and, at times, provide opportunities for people to engage in stewardship activities.
Water Trails
Water trails provide water-based recreational experiences for boaters and, in the case of longer trails, may serve as physical and programmatic connections between multiple Chesapeake Gateways Communities and Sites.
Defining Characteristics:
- Publicly-accessible paddling and/or boating routes, generally along rivers and smaller bays
- Provide access to appropriate facilities and resources on land
- Provide adequate information to orient users to the route and the environment
- Emphasize low impact use and foster both stewardship along the route and support for conservation of the Chesapeake and local watershed resources
- Have a designated organization responsible for coordinating management and information
- Within states having state-wide water trail programs or associations, water trails must be designated or recognized by those programs; several water trails are also part of the federally designated Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
- Have sufficient visitor information to support a www.nps.gov/Chesapeake listing
Boating or paddling along a water trail provides people the chance to directly experience the rivers and bays of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Visitors may find orientation information, resources, and interpretive information at various land sites along water trails.
Byways and Trails
Byways (to include interpretive driving tours) link multiple places providing thematic or geographic approaches to exploring the Chesapeake. Land trails serve as walking, hiking, and biking routes.
Defining Characteristics:
Byways:
- Link Chesapeake Gateways Communities and sites Bay-wide or within a particular region or sub-region or based on a particular theme
- Serve to give people a primary land route for connecting with and accessing components of Chesapeake Gateways
Land Trails:
-
For Chesapeake Gateways purposes, land trails are longer walking, hiking, and biking routes not within the confines of a particular Chesapeake Gateways Network Site, such as a state park
Both:
-
Connecting routes and/or land trails must be recognized by state and national designations—such as state and national scenic byways and state or nationally designated scenic, historic, or recreational trails
Byways and trails introduce visitors to a range of places and interpretive themes, depending on the focus of the route. Some routes follow one theme, others link people with diverse sites in an area. Interpretive themes are conveyed in the context of overarching and principal themes through route maps and guides and signage, again, depending on the nature of the route. Visitors find information for using connecting routes through Chesapeake Gateways orientation and trip planning materials, such as www.nps.gov/Chesapeake.
Heritage Areas and Landscapes
Over the past two decades, a series of landscape-scale designations have occurred at the state or federal level. These embrace varying sizes of regions, from smaller areas within the confines of a large city to quite expansive – 2.3 million acres, in one example. But in all cases, each of these recognized landscapes includes dozens of the types of places described above (communities, sites, etc.). In effect, these landscapes are regional networks that also participate in Chesapeake Gateways. These designations include:
- Maryland’s Heritage Areas
- Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas
- Pennsylvania’s Conservation Landscapes
- Several national heritage areas, including Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, Baltimore National Heritage Area, Northern Neck National Heritage Area, Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, Susquehanna National Heritage Area, and Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District.
In some cases, these designations overlap. Regardless, the programs often share mutualobjectives with Chesapeake Gateways and leverage support from each other for accomplishing them.
Public Water Access Sites
NPS Chesapeake Gateways also maintains and promotes information related to public water access sites throughout the watershed, many of which are located at or along the types of Chesapeake Gateways above. Water access sites usually focus on recreation with minimal interpretive information on site. Some sites provide limited navigational information through on-site signage.
Experiences
Experiences are place-based opportunities to enjoy and learn about the Chesapeake Bay watershed that are not necessarily tied to a single physical location. Operators of these activities are not the place manager or owner, though they collaborate with these entities where required.These opportunities are centered around authentic educational, interpretive, or recreational trips, tours, activities, and events. Experiences must address at least one of the principal themes related to a particular natural, cultural, historical, or recreational resource illustrative of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Defining Characteristics:
Guided
- For educational and interpretive activities, guides utilizing a structured program development framework such as NPS 21st Century Interpretive Competencies, the Chesapeake Bay Storytellers training, the TORE (Thematic, Organized, Relevant, & Enjoyable) model, NAI’s Certified Interpretive Guide, or other standard
- For recreational activities, guides follow professional standards to ensure they have the knowledge and skills for the activity provided and to handle emergencies and manage risks
Self-guided
-
Activities include sufficient orientation to prepare visitors for the activity offered
Both
- Begins and predominately occurs within the Chesapeake Bay watershed
- Primary purpose of the experience is interpretation, education, and/or recreation centered on Chesapeake Gateways themes and resources (see below)
- Open to the public through regularly scheduled daily or weekly hours throughout the visitor season
- Activities developed and provided at the highest safety and responsible recreation standards
- Have sufficient visitor information to support a www.nps.gov/Chesapeake listing
Experiences always provide access for people to have authentic opportunities no matter their location in the watershed. Examples of eligible experiences include Chesapeake Gateways Storytellers, sailing excursions, water- or land-based tours, historic walking tours, and recreational paddling equipment rental opportunities. The Chesapeake Gateways Network Experience designations are granted to specific programs rather than organizations, unlike place designations.
Other Chesapeake Gateways Partners
The many organizations and agencies that manage places participating in Chesapeake Gateways have partner relationships of their own, often with other organizations who help advance mutual goals associated with that place.
Programmatic Partners
Programmatic partners support or carry out individual initiatives, programs, or projects that advance Chesapeake Gateways goals, benefitting multiple Chesapeake Gateways Places or the network as a whole. These may include work to conserve, restore, provide access to, and interpret natural, recreational, historical, and cultural resources and advance engagement. The nature of these partnerships is mutually beneficial to Chesapeake Gateways and to the mission of the partner organizations.
Types of Programmatic Partners:
- Key state agencies: responsible for services such as state parks, tourism, conservation, and historic preservation departments, each of which might play key programmatic roles related to multiple Chesapeake Gateways Places in their own systems and the partnership network in their respective states
- Key federal agencies: like state agencies, certain federal agencies administer multiple Chesapeake Gateways Places or broad programs that may benefit the partnership network
- Regional heritage tourism entities: such as destination marketing organizations and state or national tourism collaboratives, these coalitions of places and partners in specific regions overlap with portions of Chesapeake Gateways, presenting thematic and geographic visitor experiences in a particular area
- Specific initiative partners: NPS Chesapeake Gateways partners with various entities around specific initiatives designed to achieve broad programmatic goals and strategies of Chesapeake Gateways
- Grantees: Recipients of Chesapeake Gateways Grants provide direct public benefit while advancing the goals of the Initiative Act, and NPS Chesapeake Gateways seeks to work with these partners to celebrate and amplify their achievements
- Philanthropic partners: NPS Chesapeake Gateways seeks philanthropic partnerships that extend its ability to realize the goal of Chesapeake Gateways
Relationship to Chesapeake Bay Watershed Protection and Restoration
The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is a long-standing regional partnership of federal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay. Established in 1983, the partnership is led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in coordination with six states – Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia -- along with the District of Columbia. The collaborative framework sets out measurable goals for improving water quality, increasing habitat and species protection, expanding public access, and enhancing communities across the 41-million- acre watershed.
From its founding, Chesapeake Gateways has been linked with goals and commitments of the Chesapeake Bay Program. The Chesapeake 2000 Agreement listed multiple outcomes specifically related to Chesapeake Gateways. For a decade, a Gateways Network Working Group, established by the Chesapeake Bay Program, helped advise the National Park Service on Chesapeake Gateways development.
NPS Chesapeake Gateways continues to coordinate its work with the CBP as directed in the Chesapeake Initiative Act. Several focus areas of the CBP directly align with Chesapeake Gateways, including efforts to expand public access and elevate outdoor education. NPS Chesapeake Gateways also founded and co-convenes the watershed-wide Chesapeake Conservation Partnership (CCP), a large landscape collaborative of more than fifty federal and state agencies, Tribes, land trusts, and other private sector organizations. The CCP partnership fosters collaborative action to conserve, restore, and steward these important landscapes to benefit people, nature, working lands, and local economies throughout the watershed.
Roles of NPS Chesapeake Gateways
NPS Chesapeake Gateways is the backbone organization for the Chesapeake Gateways Network. NPS Chesapeake Gateways provides a variety of core functions and technical assistance that are foundational to sustaining the partnership network established by Congress.
Planning: The NPS undertakes collaborative planning for Chesapeake Gateways, such as multi-year strategic plans or specific plans and strategies for certain Chesapeake Gateways initiatives.
Convening and Networking: NPS Chesapeake Gateways convenes places and partners for workshops, networking sessions, an annual partner meeting, and other gatherings to foster sharing of expertise, strategy development, and the goals of Chesapeake Gateways. This cross-organizational learning and collaboration is at the core of any successful partnership network. It also pays particular attention to facilitating participation of the National Park System units within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Branding, Communications, and Marketing: Chesapeake Gateways seeks to spotlight the Chesapeake Bay watershed and its natural, cultural, and recreational experiences, alongside the places. To support that, NPS Chesapeake Gateways manages unifying branding, imagery, media, and communications that promote Chesapeake Gateways. Leveraging the great resources of the NPS through its brand, publications, website, mobile app, and more, NPS Chesapeake Gateways helps visitors to easily locate places, stories, and experiences. NPS collaborates with state tourism agencies to promote Chesapeake Gateways Places and Experiences. The NPS coordinates implementation of a branding identity for Chesapeake Gateways that supports visitor recognition of the designated places in a way that complements individual partner brands.
Interpretation and Visitor Experiences: Most of the visitor programming is carried out at individual places by the managers and partners at those sites. NPS Chesapeake Gateways assists partners in developing and enhancing interpretation and welcoming visitor experiences. In addition, the NPS operates a mobile visitor contact station, the Roving Ranger, which visits Chesapeake Gateways Places and event locations throughout the region. Through this effort, the NPS collaborates with partners to develop interpretive programs or media based on the overarching and principal themes listed below.
Conservation, Access, and Stewardship: A core Chesapeake Gateways goal is to link public access, tourism, recreation, conservation, and local economies, including traditional Chesapeake working culture. The NPS collaborates with partners to develop and employ strategies and programs for interpreting, promoting, and stimulating engagement in Chesapeake stewardship.
Financial Assistance to Chesapeake Places and Partners: NPS Chesapeake Gateways also provides financial assistance, including through the Chesapeake Gateways Grants, for these same purposes. Between 1999-2024, the NPS has provided over $30 million in financial assistance to over 400 projects in scores of communities. The specific focus of and criteria for financial assistance are provided in supplemental documents.
Interpretive Themes
Chesapeake Gateways uses a thematic structure for organizing Chesapeake stories. The structure was informed by regional workshops and developed through an assorted group of interpreters, planners, educators, and researchers, and was originally published in 2000 and renewed in 2021.
The themes are organized in a hierarchical manner:
- Overarching themes are the main interpretive messages of Chesapeake Gateways. They are broad, but integrating themes, essential to conveying and understanding the essence of the Chesapeake today. Overarching themes provide a context in which principal and sub-themes and all places in Chesapeake Gateways can be understood.
- Principal themes focus on core aspects of the Chesapeake story that give this region its unique and significant character. Unlike overarching themes, which can be addressed in some way at all locations, principal themes do not apply to every site or interpretive location. Principal themes represent major storylines, each tying a large number of Chesapeake Gateways Places and sub-themes or topics together.
- Sub-themes or topics are more discrete. They represent a range of Chesapeake-related topics that might be addressed within the context of a single principal theme. Often, a particular Chesapeake Gateways Place might directly interpret one topic or a couple of topics, at most. In practice, sites would more fully develop these topics into full theme statements, as appropriate. In general, specific sub-themes have a fewer number of places where they can be adequately interpreted than principal themes.
Overarching themes
Interconnectedness: The essence of the Chesapeake story is found in the dynamic inter-connectedness of water, place, nature, and people over time. To fully appreciate and understand the Chesapeake, each of these fundamental elements must be considered and viewed in relationship to the others.
Interdependence: For centuries, human well-being has depended on the Chesapeake’s abundance; today, the Chesapeake system’s well-being is dependent on human decisions and actions.
Knowledge and Wonder: Although one of the most-studied regions in the world, the Chesapeake retains its authentic spirit because of the lived experience of its people, their pride for this place, and a desire to explore its wonders.
Principal themes & Sub-themes/Topics:
The Living, Natural Chesapeake: A complex interaction of water, land, climate, geological formations, and topographical features creates a unique ecosystem that supports the Chesapeake’s remarkable biological diversity and abundance.
- Geology and Formation of the Bay
- Biological Diversity
- Bay Geography and Topography
- Native Plant Communities
- Area Mineral Deposits
- Finfish and Shellfish
- The Bay’s Waters
- Wildlife and Waterfowl
- Estuarine Ecology
- Migratory Patterns in the Bay and the Atlantic
- Tidal Wetlands
- Natural Disasters
- Natural Productivity and Abundance of the Bay
Peoples of the Chesapeake: From time immemorial, the natural environment of the Chesapeake and the people it attracted gave shape to distinctive cultural traditions.
- Peoples of the Bay: 13,000 Years
- Religious Groups, Activities, and Influences on Culture and Society
- Changing Societies and Cultures Throughout History
- Occupations of Bay Inhabitants
- Sources of Conflict and Cooperation
- Civic Issues, Events, and Developments in the Region
- Values and Social and Multi-cultural Endeavors of the Peoples of the Chesapeake
Settlement of the Chesapeake: The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have attracted settlement by humans throughout time, resulting in patterns that shape the region’s landscape and reflect the nation’s history.
- Impact of Geography and Topography on Settlement
- Settlement Patterns in the Chesapeake Region
- Indigenous Communities
- European Exploration and Settlement
- Africans and African Americans
- Later Immigration to the Bay
- The Built Environment of the Bay
- Growth: Communities, Colonies, Towns, Cities
An Economic Resource: Commerce, Productivity, & Transportation: The rich, natural abundance of the Chesapeake has been a powerful incentive for commercial development, influencing the region’s economy, transportation, and productivity.
- Marine Resources: Their Harvesting and Harvesters
- Shipbuilding
- Land and Mineral Resources: Their Harvesting and Harvesters
- The Evolution of Transportation Throughout the Region and to and from the Nation
- Agriculture in the Chesapeake
- Recreation and Tourism in the Bay
- Trade Relationships and the Chesapeake
- Area Manufacturing and Industrialization
- The Bay and Its Tributaries as Highways
- The Chesapeake Economy in the 21st Century
Military and Naval Presence on the Chesapeake: Because of its vast waters and strategic location, the Chesapeake Bay has long played a critical role in the military and naval history of the United States.
- Conflicts between Native Americans & Colonists
- The Battles and Impact of the Revolutionary War
- Naval Ports and Military Installations
- The Chesapeake in The War of 1812
- Naval Shipbuilding, Design, and Weaponry
- United States Naval Academy
- The Civil War in a Divided Region
- The Bay’s Role in Developing Modern Weaponry
- Bay Installations in Twentieth Century Wars
The Chesapeake as a Source of Recreation and Renewal: Abundant opportunities for a broad range of leisure-time activities, involving sport, education, culture, and stewardship, spring from the vast resources and beautiful landscapes of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
- Water Sports in the Bay
- Birding and Wildlife Viewing
- Fishing
- Emergence of Bay Heritage Tourism and Ecotourism
- Exploring the Bay’s Terrain: Hiking, Camping, Hunting, Sightseeing
- The Bay in Art: Photography, Painting, Literature, and Poetry
- Decoy Carving
- Regional Music and Folklore
Environmental Stewardship and Viability: Since the 1980s, Americans have gathered to conserve and restore the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The critical economic and cultural ties between these resources and the public have driven these efforts. Traditional ecological knowledge, community-driven policies, and stewardship activities offer hope for the Chesapeake’s viability.
- Changing Perspectives on the Chesapeake
- Conservation and Sound Land Use
- Regional Economic Development
- Wildlife, Fish, and Plant Protection and Restoration
- Individual Responsibility for the Bay
- Vital Habitat Protection and Restoration
- Community Engagement with Stewardship
- Water Quality Restoration and Protection
Chesapeake Gateways Refreshed
Chesapeake Gateways has, from the start, been envisioned as a new form of “park”—a 21st century national park, one that stitches together a broad set of varied places and experiences as a tapestry, representative of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Based on partnerships, it serves up the Chesapeake story through hundreds of venues, seeking to connect people with the remarkable culture, history, nature, and recreation of this magnificent landscape and foster its stewardship.
Built upon a quarter century of success, the refreshed Chesapeake Gateways is positioned well to leverage the full benefit of the National Park Service for partners. With clarity of purpose and the tools to execute the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act, NPS Chesapeake Gateways is connecting people and special places through the Chesapeake Gateways Network for this and future generations.
Last updated: May 12, 2025