Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway Water Trails Added to National Park Service Boater’s Guide; Suggestions Needed Regarding Water Access Sites

From the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Inc.:

We have worked very hard toward this goal and are pleased to announce that the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway Water Trails are part of the just-released “A Boater’s Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail,” produced by the National Park Service, Chesapeake Conservancy and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

You can access the document online: Boater’s Guide

If you wish to acquire a new boat you can search for new boat sales in your area.

BUT we are not finished! The National Park Service wants to hear from YOU regarding future water access sites:

Where do we need boat ramps or fishing piers, places to swim, or scenic spots to bird watch or just look at the water?

The National Park Service (NPS) and local and state governments have been studying the places residents can go to enjoy public access to the Chesapeake Bay and tributary rivers. In 2010, the federal Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed set a goal to provide 300 additional public access sites in the Bay watershed by 2025.

The information you provide will help NPS and our partners create the “Chesapeake Bay Region Public Access Plan” due in 2012 to support this commitment for new access. Your participation will ensure that we accurately identify the gaps in public access available now and where there are opportunities for new access sites.

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO (before July 20th):

NPS has developed a web-based tool so you can share your ideas on an Interactive Map. The site will be available through July 20th. This online tool will allow the public an easy way to share input with NPS and state agency staff. More details can be found at http://www.baygateways.net/

We encourage you to try out the interactive map, but if you need an another option, you can send an email to Heather_Bennett@nps.gov with the following information for each site or stretch you would like to submit:

1) Site/stretch name

2) Water Body

3) Description

4) County/City

5) Primary Use

Boating

Fishing

Swimming

Viewing

6) Current Ownership

7) Do you know if this site is planned to be developed in the next 3 yrs (“yes” or “no”)

8.) Additional Information

Thank you,

Mary Ann Lisanti
Executive Director