John Smith Water Trail

Congress Considers More Smart Buoys: We Need Your Help!

Congress is considering a plan to extend the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), the state-of-the-art buoys that monitor the health of the Bay along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Currently, six CBIBS buoys mark the trail and provide scientists with water quality information needed to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has identified a need for a minimum of 20 CBIBS buoys throughout the watershed and your continued support in securing these funds brings us an important step closer to achieving that goal.

CBIBS buoys are part of the Chesapeake Bay Observing System, link to the Interagency Ocean Observing System, and enhance NOAA’s ability to collect, deliver, and use real-time information to protect the Bay ecosystem. The National Geographic Society is developing an innovative website called Fieldscope, which uses the CBIBS buoy data for the data sharing and observations of schoolchildren and educators throughout the Bay watershed.

Thanks to your vital letters of support last year, Congress provided NOAA with $500,000, which will be used to deploy two buoys this summer, one on the Potomac River near Washington D.C. and the other in Annapolis, on the Severn River. These buoys will enhance our understanding of the biological, physical and chemical processes across the Bay and its tributaries and support the educational components of the John Smith trail.

This year we are asking our friends to urge members of Congress to provide funding for five additional buoys—two in Virginia, two in Maryland, and one in Delaware—as part of NOAA’s budget in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

Please help! The Trail needs your support!

Please visit the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail website for details on how you can help.

20 Miles of Shoreline Added to the Trail!

On January 29, 2009, Maryland’s Board of Public Works—Governor Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot, and Treasurer Nancy Kopp—unanimously approved the use of Program Open Space funds to preserve some of the state’s most historic lands, which Captain John Smith mapped and explored during his voyages of discovery in 1608. Located in Cecil, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties, these lands comprise nearly 4,500 acres and 20 miles of Potomac River waterfront, offering access and recreational and educational opportunities along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

Your Support Needed Today for Important Shoreline Purchase

The Board of Public works will soon consider purchasing nearly 20 miles of shoreline along the Potomac River that would create direct access to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

This purchase will provide great opportunities for public recreation and will protect ecologically valuable landscapes that are directly connected to Smith's voyage and to the founding of Maryland.

Please help ensure the conservation of this land by letting the Members of the Board of Public Works and leaders of the General Assembly know you support this important project by sending a letter of support. For details and a sample letter, check the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail website.

Repaired buoy goes back into Patapsco

From the Annapolis Capital: The solar-powered informational buoy damaged by gunshots this summer is back in the water at the mouth of the Patapsco River, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

Trail Named 2008 Conservation Priority

The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail has been named one of six conservation priorities on this year's Regional Conservation Priorities List. The list, compiled by the Washington Smart Growth Alliance, promotes conservation initiatives that contribute most to our future quality of life. Find out more at http://www.friendsofthejohnsmithtrail.org/

Fall Festival Celebrates 400th Anniversary

On October 18th from 10 am to 4 pm the Marshy Point Nature Center’s Fall Festival will celebrate the 400th anniversary of Captain John Smith’s two voyages in the Chesapeake Bay. One of the most noteworthy small boat voyages of all time, a dozen men rowed and sailed a two ton “barge of discovery” some 2,500 miles in the summer of 1608. On exhibit will be a Native American wigwam and a replica of Smith’s barge, the Explorer, built by the Deltaville Maritime Museum. This festival will feature canoeing, rowing, films, food and many nature activities for people of all ages. Free admission.  Call 410/887-2817 or go to www.marshypoint.org for details.

Your Ideas Wanted: Public Invited to Trail Workshops

The National Park Service (NPS) has announced a series of open houses to receive public input and comments on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. These events, held throughout the Chesapeake Bay region from September 23 through October 8, will provide background on the trail, explain the suggested interpretive themes, and share issues and questions NPS seeks to answer as it develops the trail's comprehensive management plan and environmental assessment (CMP/EA).

For the most up-to-date schedule, visit the National Park Service planning website.

"Public involvement is key to a successful future of the trail," said John Maounis, the trail's superintendent. "Based on what we hear at these workshops, we can develop meaningful programs and concepts that will relate to everyone who visit this unique and significant resource."

Extensive public involvement (as well as consultation with state agencies) is sought to help guide the NPS as it works to understand the best methods to manage, interpret, and access the trail. Public input from the open houses will help shape a set of management alternatives, which will also be brought before the public in spring 2009. NPS plans to distribute a draft CMP/EA in fall of 2009 (also open to public comment). A final plan, which will include responses to the public comments, is expected in early 2010.

For more information, visit the National Park Service planning website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/meetingNotices.cfm?parkId=466&projectId=18545

New Buoy Launches in Havre de Grace September 13

Come to Havre de Grace, Md. at the head of the Chesapeake on Saturday, September 13 at 10:30 a.m. to see NOAA deploy the latest of the smart buoys that contribute to bay research and mark the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin and U.S. Representative C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, along with NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, USN (Ret.) will celebrate the expansion of the system that monitors the Bay's changing conditions.

For more information visit the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail website.

Listen to the Water

The fourth 'smart buoy' of the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail was deployed Saturday off Stingray Point. Left, members of the Army Corps of Engineers lift the new buoy into the water.

Events Along the Trail This Summer

If you're looking for something to do this summer that is connected with the Trail and our nation's history, check out the Friends of the John Smith Trail website. You'll find events ranging from river festivals and historic programs to Native American powwows.