The Chesapeake Bay Program has announced that it has exceeded its goal of opening 300 new docks, boat ramps, kayak launches and other sites that allow the public access to creeks, streams and rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with 312 sites added since 2010.
Included in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the partnership’s Public Access Site Development Outcome calls for 300 new public access sites to be added throughout the watershed by 2025, with a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for boating, swimming and fishing. In 2024, 27 new public access sites were added, bringing that total to 312.
“In 2000, the idea of 300 new sites watershed-wide seemed daunting, so to see the goal achieved today is tremendously gratifying,” said Lisa Gutierrez, director of Public Access, Water Trails and Recreation Planning at Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “It is a good time to pause and think about all the people who worked toward this moment, the contributions the...