Statement: Chesapeake Conservancy Celebrates Permanent Protection of Werowocomoco
Not yet open to the public, Werowocomoco is now a part of the National Park System 和 the John Smith Chesapeake Trail.
Annapolis, MD – Chesapeake Conservancy President & CEO Joel Dunn issued this statement following an announcement from the National Park Service regarding the permanent protection of Werowocomoco.
“Along with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Governor McAuliffe 和 our partners at the National Park Service, The Conservation Fund, 和 American Indian tribal leaders, the Chesapeake Conservancy celebrates the permanent protection of Werowocomoco.
“Once the capital of the Powhatan chiefdom for hundreds of years 和 one of the most significant American Indian sites in eastern North America, we think of it as the Machu Picchu of the Chesapeake. It is not yet open to the public pending a planning process in consultation with local American Indian tribes in Virginia, but this special place is now a part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail where visitors will be able to appreciate its antiquity 和 spirituality, 和 gain access to its majestic natural 和 cultural history.
“This success, which we celebrate on the 10th anniversary of the trail 和 the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, is a great example of the importance 和 the power of the L和 和 Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). This program has protected a long list of our nation’s most iconic places, to which Werowocomoco can now be added.
“On behalf of the Chesapeake Conservancy, I’d like to thank the huge outpouring of supporters who joined us in advocating for the Rivers of the Chesapeake LWCF collaborative in fiscal year 2015 和 fiscal year 2016, which included nine U.S. senators, 17 members of the House of Representatives, five governors, President of the Maryl和 Senate, the Speakers of the House of Delegates in Virginia 和 Maryl和, six American Indian tribes, the John Smith Chesapeake Trail Advisory Council, 和 35 NGOs.”
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The Chesapeake Conservancy’s mission is to strengthen the connection between people 和 the watershed, conserve the l和scapes 和 special places that sustain the Chesapeake’s unique natural 和 cultural resources, 和 restore l和scapes, 河流, 和 habitats in the Chesapeake Bay region. For more information, please visit www.ChesapeakeConservancy.org