Friends Ask Governors for Support in Trail Development

The Chesapeake Executive Council, an organization tasked with establishing policy for the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay, meets today in Annapolis, and the John Smith Water Trail is on their agenda.

The Council is made up of the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the Chair of the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

The Friends of the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail are asking the Council to establish a team with members from each state's appropriate state agencies to work closely with the National Park Service and its partners as it creates the foundation of the trail. The Park Service is already in contact with various state agencies, but the creation of a single multidisciplinary team would expedite the complex job of creating a single, unified trail across several states. For details about the request, read the Friends' news release.

The Friends are also requesting the Council ask the Bush administration and Congress to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Program, which expires in 2008. The program provides technical and financial support for the John Smith Trail.