Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently designated four water trails as new historic connecting components of the existing Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Click through to watch a video of the signing ceremony. The new additions – the Susquehanna, Chester, Upper Nanticoke and Upper James Rivers – expand the public’s connections to the history, cultural heritage, and natural resources of the 3,000-mile-long national historic trail in the Chesapeake Bay. The new river connecting trails are found in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
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The designation of the connecting trails is a great step forward, not only for the John Smith Trail, but also as a part of a framework and catalyst for a large landscape protection movement in the Chesapeake, similar to The Crown of the Continent and the Everglades. This watershed, its variety, its cultures, and its opportunities are every bit as important and exciting as those other efforts. The careful and innovative planning and partnering related to the Trail sets a strong basis for a real and vibrant large landscapes program for the watershed.
I hadn’t realized that Smith, alongside Christopher Newport, were so responsible for much of the founding along the James – including that of Richmond. Great info!