In 2014, Chesapeake Bay Program partners opened 17 boat ramps, fishing piers, and other sites that allow the public to access rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia opened 14 sites, while Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York each opened one.
This brings the total number of access sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to 1,225. Chesapeake Bay Program partners have a goal to bring the total number of access sites in the watershed to 1,439 by 2025. Since tracking began in 2010, partners have opened 86 new sites, meeting 29 percent of their goal.
Partnerships between local, state and federal agencies and non-profit organizations have been essential in developing these sites: a soft launch for paddlecraft opened on the Chickahominy River with support from the James River Association. Walking trails, wildlife viewing platforms and interpretive signs were built on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land along Mount Landing Creek with support from the Virginia State Park Youth Conservation Corps.
At the Zimmerman Center for Heritage on the Susquehanna River, a boat dock, wildlife viewing platform, pavilion, and fishing access point were established with support from Pennsylvania’s Fish and Boat Commission, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, National Park Service and local donors.
source: Chesapeake Bay Program
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