[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE CHESAPEAKE GATEWAYS AND WATERTRAILS NETWORK 
                            REAUTHORIZATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2008

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network (CBGN), which will 
otherwise expire at the end 2008. The CBGN provides grants to parks, 
volunteer groups, wildlife refuges, historic sites, museums, and water 
trails throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Network ties these 
sites together to provide meaningful experiences and foster citizen 
stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay. Since 2000, it has grown to include 
156 Gateways in six States and the District of Columbia, and over 1500 
miles of established and developing water trails.
  My own Congressional District includes several such Gateways sites. 
For example, the Annapolis Maritime Museum, which sits on the banks of 
Back Creek, promotes an understanding of the maritime heritage of 
Annapolis and how that history has influenced the evolution of the 
State of Maryland. The museum campus occupies the site of the old 
McNasby's Oyster Packing Company. For years, from the shores of the 
Back Creek and other tributaries, watermen came and went delivering 
their daily catch. Boatwrights and craftsmen ran boatyards to sustain 
the industry. Employees of McNasby's and other businesses shucked, 
canned, and shipped oysters and other seafood as far as the Rocky 
Mountains. The maritime and seafood industry made Annapolis a 
prosperous town--and they were all connected to and dependent upon the 
Chesapeake Bay. The Annapolis Maritime Museum teaches current residents 
and youth about this connection to the water and how it continues to 
influence our culture and economy to this day.
  As reported in the Baltimore Sun late last year, the museum has 
established a program with Eastport Elementary School to connect 
students with the Chesapeake Bay through activities that fit into their 
studies in reading, math, and science. The students participate in 
activities such as ``measuring water temperature, salinity and clarity; 
they observe, measure and document the museum's terrapins and oysters; 
and account for funds they're raising to support the upkeep of the 
terrapins.'' These kinds of programs have a profound and long lasting 
impact on students as evidenced by the feedback from one parent who 
said, ``My child has become more excited and interested in the bay and 
what it means to the area where he lives.''
  By maintaining the Gateways network and providing access to sites 
such as the Annapolis Maritime Museum, we can help develop the next 
generation of environmental stewards, which is one of the best ways to 
truly ``Save the Bay.'' It is therefore critical that we act now to 
reauthorize the Gateways program so that the Network and its partners 
can continue to educate residents of the Chesapeake Bay watershed about 
how their communities relate directly to the health of our largest 
estuary and a national treasure--the Chesapeake Bay.

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