The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., is an incredibly complex ecosystem that includes important habitats and is a cherished part of our American heritage. More than 64,000 square-miles of land drains into creeks, streams, rivers and, eventually, the Chesapeake Bay. Almost 200 miles long, the Chesapeake Bay is a wonderful resource, still beautiful and still teeming with life that we both harvest and appreciate. But unquestionably the Bay is in need and worthy of our attention and concern and I believe everyone has a role to play in restoring it.

The House of Representatives recently passed, with my support, the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, which was created in 1998, is a partnership system comprised of over 150 gateways, including museums, historic sites, parks and wildlife refuges and 1,500 miles of water trails. The Gateway Network hosts more than 10 million visitors annually.

The Gateway Network was created with the goal of promoting projects that conserve, restore, and interpret natural, recreational, historical, and cultural resources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. So far more than 200 projects, including exhibits, new interpretive or orientation brochures, educational programs, water and land trails, and related access improvements have been undertaken. These grants are primarily awarded to parks, nonprofit organizations, wildlife refuges, museums, and historic sites.

The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act ensures that this important program continues and the Gateway Network and its partners can continue to educate residents of the Chesapeake Bay watershed about the natural, cultural, historical and recreational sites throughout the Bay region and how their communities relate directly to the health of this national treasure.

In addition to the Gateways and Watertrails Network legislation, I am also a cosponsor of the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act which will bring better accounting and more flexible management to efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay partnership includes 10 federal agencies, 6 states and the District of Columbia, thousands of localities and many non-governmental organizations. This important legislation assures that federal dollars currently spent on Bay restoration activities produce results by tracking program accomplishments, measuring progress towards achieving program goals, and comparing activities conducted by various agencies with the same goal.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes all types of land uses, from intensely urban areas, spread out suburban development and diverse agricultural practices. As a member of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, I remain committed to making restoration of the Chesapeake Bay a priority of federal conservation programs. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Continuing Authorization Act and the Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act will go a long way toward protecting the Chesapeake Bay for future generations to use and enjoy.