Shorelines - Chesapeake Conservancy

Corridor EngagementParticipants in the 10th-anniversary retrospective, sponsored by Sultana Education Foundation, included (left to right): crew members Bill Ryall, LizSchale Vidana, Ian Bystrom (captain), Leona Dalton, Austin Hall, Donkey Dover, John Mann, Ashley Maloney, Forrest Richards, and Rebecca Pskowski. Twocrewmembers, Andy Bystrom and Kelly Poole, could not attend.PHOTO BY MICHAEL WOOTTON“Wind in Our Sails:” Launch of theJohn Smith Chesapeake Trailby Paula DegenMay 12, 2007, people jammed ontoJamestown Island to participate in the400th anniversary of the founding of thefirst permanent English settlement inAmerica. A weekend of activities cappedyears of preparation—including a royalvisit from England’s Queen Elizabethand the construction of a new NationalPark Service visitor center at the site ofHistoric Jamestowne. And there, at theheight of the festivities, 12 young peoplesat on stage while dignitaries spoke of theadventure about to begin.The seven young men and five womenwere embarking on a voyage to re-enactthe Chesapeake Bay explorations ofCaptain John Smith 400 years earlier.For the next three months, these modernexplorers would serve as ambassadorsfor the Captain John Smith ChesapeakeNational Historic Trail, which had beendesignated five months earlier as the 25thaddition to the National Trails Systemand the first primarily water-basednational historic trail.As the speeches ended, the crowds andcameras moved to the rocky edge of theJames River and the crew gingerly madetheir way to a shallow, single-masted,wooden boat tethered nearby. Built asa replica of the shallop that Smith andhis fellow-colonists used to explore theChesapeake’s rivers, the 28-foot openboat looked impossibly small for thescale of what lay ahead for the 12 people4 who climbed aboard that day. Amidstshouts of encouragement, they shovedoff to officially inaugurate the newnational historic trail. They returned121 days and approximately 1700 mileslater to this same Jamestown shoreline—with tans, friendships to last a lifetime,intimate knowledge of the ChesapeakeBay, and the accomplishment of theirambitious mission.The re-enactment story started a few yearsearlier at Sultana Education Foundationin Chestertown, Maryland, wherevolunteers led by veteran shipwrightJohn Swain had built the replica 1768schooner Sultana as the centerpiece ofthe organization’s education program.Ready for a new project, Sultana’seducation director at the time, ChrisCerino, suggested building a replica ofthe shallop used by English coloniststo explore the Chesapeake. Cerino andSultana President Drew McMullen beganthinking of the possibilities if a replicashallop actually re-traced Captain JohnSmith’s voyages, making stops alongthe way to convey Sultana’s educationmission of teaching about the historyand environment of the Chesapeake.Meanwhile, Patrick Noonan, chairmanemeritus of The Conservation Fund, wasspearheading efforts to have a nationalhistoric trail designated to recognizethe significance of Smith’s explorationsin the founding of the nation. InitiallyShorelines The Chesapeake Conservancy Newsletterwith Gilbert Grosvenor at NationalGeographic Society and Will Baker atChesapeake Bay Foundation, and soonto be joined by individuals and groupsthroughout the Bay region, they formedthe Friends of the John Smith Trail towork for trail designation. (See summer2016 Shorelines for story of establishingthe national historic trail.)Sultana’s boatbuilding efforts and theFriends’ promotion of the new nationalhistoric trail eventually converged andgave birth to the idea of having the reenactment voyage inaugurate the trail.Even before the trail was designatedDecember 19, 2006, Sultana beganrecruiting the crew that would beessential to the success of a re-enactmenteffort. Would anyone respond to thisposting in the summer of 2006?WANTED: energetic and flexible adventurersto undertake a 121-day open boat voyageof the Chesapeake Bay. Applicants must beprepared to row up to 15 miles each day,live in close quarters with 11 crew on boarda 28-foot boat, and survive for weeks onend without benefit of a bed, toilet, runningwater, air-conditioning, refrigeration, andmost other modern comforts. Salary andbenefits minimal.Sultana actually received scoresof applications from experiencedadventurers across the U.S. Projectleaders chose the following crew: IanBystrom, a Coast-Guard-licensed captainwith experience as chief mate aboard theschooner Sultana, would serve as captainfor the expedition. Andrew Bystromhad experience in teaching elementaryaged children and as a writer. He wouldserve as scribe for the mission, regularlyposting journal notes on a websitededicated to the Captain John Smith400 Project. Leona Dalton, in additionto having a masters in history fromWashington College, was an experiencedrower with the college’s varsity team.Donald (Donkey) Dover, who alsohad extensive rowing experience, hadcrewed on a historic sloop and was acertified emergency medical technician.Austin Hall had professional experienceas a whitewater rafting and backcountryguide. Ashley Maloney was a member ofStanford University’s crew team and hadextensive background in experiential andhistoric education, including serving aseducation director aboard the schoonerSultana. John Mann led canoeing andboating trips on the Chesapeake andhad been a staff naturalist at an outdoorschool. Kelly Poole, a licensed captainand experienced sailor, had crewed onseveral historic vessels, among themPride of Baltimore II. Rebecca Pskowskihad also crewed on Pride of Baltimore II,SUMMER 2017

Corridor Engagementas well as worked as lead educator onthe schooner Lynx. Forrest Richards hada degree in colonial and 20th-centuryAmerican cultural history and crewedon several historic sailing ships. WilliamRyall graduated from the University ofManchester in England and had alsocrewed on several historic sailing ships.Elizabeth Schale (now Vidana) workedas a sea kayak guide and as an educatoraboard schooner Mystic Whaler, and wascertified as a wilderness EMT.These are the 12 who shared the closequarters of the boat; sailed or rowedat any time day or night, rain or shine;pitched tents on the nights they couldsleep ashore; engaged the public inexploring the Chesapeake Bay andlearning about American Indian history,early English settlement, and naturalresources in Smith’s time and today.These are the 12 who captured theimagination of people who followedtheir progress at events, daily websitepostings, and through worldwide media.Ten Years LaterMay 10, 2017, almost 10 years to the daythe re-enactment voyage set out fromJamestown, Sultana hosted a reunionfor the shallop crew in Chestertown.Ten of the 12 crew members cameback to present a retrospective for thestanding-room-only audience gathered atSultana’s new education center. Sultana’spresident, Drew McMullen, welcomedthe crowd and introduced Joel Dunn,Honorary Chesapeake Conservancy Board Member Gil Grosvenorstops by the exhibit.PHOTO BY SARAH ELDERThe Chesapeake Conservancy andthe National Park Service ChesapeakeBay Office were recently awardedthe Marion Thompson Fuller BrownConservation Award for their 2017Garden Club of America FlowerShow exhibit. The judges noted thatthe exhibit was “a visually appealingand highly educational presentationwhich motivates visitors to enjoy andexperience the Captain John SmithChesapeake National Historic Trail.”The crew sets out from Jamestown May 12, 2007, for a three-month re-enactment voyage to launch the new national historic trail.PHOTO COURTESY OF SULTANA EDUCATION FOUNDATIONwho had worked for The ConservationFund to win the national historic traildesignation. Dunn is now the presidentand CEO of Chesapeake Conservancy,which grew from the Friends of theJohn Smith Trail—the nonprofit groupinstrumental in establishing the trail.Dunn described how the trail hasbecome a framework for conservationof Chesapeake lands and rivers, citingspecifically recent success in preservingWerowocomoco, site of John Smith’smeeting with Powhatan, the mostinfluential Indian leader at the time.Bob Campbell represented the NationalPark Service Chesapeake Bay Office,which administers the Captain JohnSmith Chesapeake National HistoricTrail. Recalling the shallop re-enactmentvoyage that launched the trail, Campbellsaid the event had “put the winds in oursails that are still carrying us forwardtoday.” He noted that the trail existsbecause of the commitment of partners,exemplified by the long-standingpartnership with Sultana. The NationalPark Service recently designated the newSultana Education Center as an officialvisitor center for the trail.Chris Cerino—who is credited with theoriginal idea for replicating the shallopand the voyage—gave a historicaloverview. He then introduced each ofthe 10 crew members present to describevarious aspects and “takeaways” from theexperience.They spoke of long hours on the boat inall kinds of conditions; of a rotating cycleof six people rowing at a time, switchingpositions at 30-minute intervals towork different muscles; of trying to getcomfortable in the 30 minutes they wereSUMMER 2017not rowing. They described simplifiedlives not connected to screens and 24hour news cycles, and how rowing atan average of 2½ knots gave them thechance to see the Bay in a way probablynot seen in 400 years. They noted theincredible interest of town councils,museums, and others in hosting events,and the generosity of landowners whoopened their yards and often their homesto the travelers.Colleen Moore Whitlock echoed that, asshe described working with the hosts oflocal events. “Without the support fromso many cities, towns, and individuallandowners around the Bay the missionof the project would have gottennowhere, and the crew would have hadmany more nights of uncomfortablesleep on the shallop itself . The shallopand our exhibit were either the centralfocus of the event or a smaller part of alarger festival . Each local group wascommitted to bringing the history of theregion to life and introducing the publicto the trail.” Whitlock has continued toprovide coordination skills, first as staffof the Friends of the John Smith Trailand now as director of administration forChesapeake Conservancy.All of the crew referred to the voyage asa life-changing event, and several creditit with their career choices. Ten yearslater, trail partnerships are thriving, andpeople are exploring and learning aboutthe Bay through trail experiences. Thereplica shallop rests at the ChesapeakeBay Maritime Museum, where peoplecan read its story and imagine what anadventure that must have been.Shorelines The Chesapeake Conservancy Newsletter 5

Conservation InnovationChesapeake Conservancy Partners to HelpRestoration Efforts at Dumbarton Oaks ParkNestled in busy Washington, DC, is afantastic park called Dumbarton OaksPark that gives visitors a respite fromthe hustle and bustle of our nation’scapital. Situated in Georgetown withan entrance along R Street, DumbartonOaks Park was formerly the home ofAmbassador Robert and Mrs. MildredWoods Bliss, who donated the propertyto the National Park Service in 1940to be a unit of Rock Creek Park. This27-acre sanctuary offers a path alonga small stream with gorgeous littlewaterfalls, each built so the watermakes a different sound as it goes overeach fall. A stone bridge straight out ofa Romantic period painting will takeyou over the stream and into a meadowat the foot of a hill covered withbeech trees.The Dumbarton Oaks Conservancy, anonprofit partner to the National ParkService, is working to remove invasiveplants that have nearly taken over thegrounds and replace them with nativespecies and to repair damage caused bystormwater runoff, which has erodedthe stream banks, caused sedimentbuildup, and even caused damage tohave, later this year we will release athe stone waterfall structures.story map application that gives youa little taste of what you can expect toThe Chesapeake Conservancy hasjoined in this project, using technology see on your walk through the trails. Wehope you will visit this green oasis into identify where these efforts willthe middle of Washington, DC, andprovide the most benefit to the park.support the efforts to keep this specialOur Conservation Innovation Centerplace healthy.has created a high-resolution elevationmap to understandhow the water flowsover the land. Thisinformation will beused to advise projectssuch as planting treesto help with streambank erosion. Wehave created a webviewer to make thisinformation accessibleto the Dumbarton OaksConservancy and otherpotential partners onthe project.In an effort toencourage people tovisit the park and fallLocated in Washington, DC, Dumbarton Oaks Park offers 27 acres of respite from the hustle and bustleof the city.in love with it as wePHOTO BY PETER TURCIKNext Generation of ConservationChesapeake Conservation Corp Member Jake LeizearSince August of 2016, the ChesapeakeConservancy has had the pleasureto have Jake Leizear working withus as a member of the ChesapeakeConservation Corps through theChesapeake Bay Trust. He has alsobeen working with more than 30other Corps members at different hostsites to become better stewards of theChesapeake Bay watershed’snatural resources.Jake’s work, part of a capstone projectfor the Conservation Corps program,focuses on the Chesapeake Trail alongthe Patapsco River in Baltimore, payingparticular attention to the Middle Branchof the river and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.His work with the Conservancy includescommunity engagement; cartography;Geographic Information Systems (GIS);and raising awareness, support, andinvolvement in the Greater BaltimoreWilderness Coalition.He organized a Green Jobs andOpportunities Fair at Coppin StateUniversity to show Baltimore area6 students about possible careers inconservation and what they can expect ifthey enter the field.His experience with GIS has been usefulin mapping the Patapsco River to createa paddling guide that maps amenitiesand addresses safety issues, such as waterquality and temperature, and areas alongmajor active shipping channels wherepaddlers should practice cautionwhile traveling.Additionally, he has worked withpartners such as Baltimore Recreationand Parks, Baltimore CommunityRowing, and the Greater BaltimoreWilderness Coalition to developsignage along the Patapsco about theChesapeake Trail and other greenresources and to get people excitedabout the historical context of the trail.A 2016 graduate from University ofMaryland, Baltimore County, Jake holdsa bachelor of science in environmentalscience and a GIS certification, with astrong interest in human GIS applicationShorelines The Chesapeake Conservancy Newsletterand communityengagement andinvolvement.Jake said muchof his experiencebefore theJake LeizearConservancyCOURTESY PHOTOwas academicand had not given him the chance to seewhat a degree and a job in his field lookslike. After his program, Jake feels verydifferently about careers in conservation.“In the last year I have had this greatopportunity to meet all these differentpeople doing all of these differentthings and see what a true conservationprofessional looks like in practice,”Jake said. “When you’re coming up as aconservation major or in environmentalsciences, or whatever, you are presentedwith the notion that you can come backand be a professor and get your Ph.D., oryou can go into the real world and be apark ranger, an activist, or alegislative lobbyist.”SUMMER 2017

Donor Spotlight & Conservancy NewsDonor Spotlight – Randy LarrimoreRandy Larrimore has supported theChesapeake Conservancy since 2010. Heis currently a member of our ChesapeakeCouncil and is helping with ourconservation efforts along the NanticokeRiver in Delaware.Randy grew up in Seaford, DE, throughwhich the Nanticoke flows. He currentlylives in Princeton, NJ, and Bethany Beach,DE. He enjoys boating—particularlywhile towing the young ones on tubes—and having a blue crab feast with all thefixings with his family in Seaford. He alsoenjoys golfing with his fiancée, Cathy, aswell as biking, kayaking, and boating inAssawoman Bay, near where he now livesin Delaware.A longtime supporter of conservation,Randy has worked for many years withour founding chairman of the board, PatNoonan. Through their work together,Randy said he decided to focus hisconservation efforts close to home in theChesapeake. Though he had supportedthe Conservancy since 2010, Randy onlymet our president and CEO, Joel Dunn,at an event announcing the protectionof land in the Nanticoke River watershedthrough the Department of Defense’sReadiness and Environmental PreparationIntegration program. However, Randysaid he quickly realized that Joel and theConservancy are “the real deal.”“Joel and the Conservancy are doingimportant, and in many cases, groundbreaking work to protect and enhance therecreational benefits of the Chesapeake. Iam particularly excited about the CaptainJohn Smith Chesapeake National HistoricTrail. As Joel has said, it’s like having theAppalachian Trail on water right here inour backyard,” Randy said.As a member of our Chesapeake Council,Randy has helped provide business adviceto the Conservancy as well as createrelationships with potential partners forprojects in the future. He recently tookJoel on a boat trip on the Nanticoke,showing him some current and potentialprojects in the area, giving us some muchneeded on-site perspective.“The Chesapeake Conservancy isincredibly fortunate to have such acommitted supporter, advisor, andpartner in Randy Larrimore. His love forthe Chesapeake is most evident fromhis work with us. We greatly appreciatehis support of our mission and we lookforward to our continued partnershipwith him in our efforts to protect theNanticoke River,” Joel Dunn said.Randy explained that there are two sidesto conservation in the Chesapeake, inhis opinion. These include working torestore the health of the Bay and its rivers,as well as encouraging people to use andenjoy the resources of the region. TheConservancy also believes these focusesare vital to protecting and restoring thehealth of the Chesapeake.“I think it is incredibly important toencourage people to use the Chesapeakeand give them the resources and theConservancyStaff Newsinclude evaluating change detectionmethodologies and comparing differentland cover classification techniques.Emily supports Chesapeake Bay Programpartnership projects, such as analyzingchange detection methodologies and landcover classification techniques, as well asother CIC projects including prioritizingrestoration opportunities and creatingland cover datasets for partners.Rachel works to create high-resolutionland cover data as part of our Envision theSusquehanna initiative.Director of Conservation TechnologyJeffrey Allenby and Director ofOperations Sarah Elder both recentlycelebrated their five-year anniversarieswith Chesapeake Conservancy.George Ward joined the Conservancyfor the summer to help with advocacyefforts for the Chesapeake GatewaysThe ChesapeakeConservancywelcomes threenew members tothe ConservationInnovationCenter team:Michael Nortonjoins theConservancy as ageospatial projectmanager. EmilyNortonMills and Rachel MichaelCOURTESY PHOTOSoobitsky are ournewest geospatial analysts.Michael oversees analytical projectswith the Chesapeake Bay Programpartnership. Some of his projects willSUMMER 2017Randy LarrimoreCOURTESY PHOTOmeans to use it, which is really whatthe purpose of the Chesapeake Trailis—to help educate people about whathappened in the Chesapeake and makeit fun to learn more about the Bay. Itis amazing to have what is a series ofnational parks that do not involve takinganyone’s land. It’s all open space,” Randysaid. “More than ever before, our citizensneed to get involved to protect ournatural resources. I am honored to be apart of this critical effort. It has been funto be involved with an organization thatis up and coming. The Conservancy isstill small enough that you feel like youcan have an impact, and that you’re notjust one of thousands of people who areinvolved in the bigger organizations.”Thanks, Randy, for your continuedsupport.program. He returns to St. John’s Collegein Annapolis this fall for his senior year.Katie Bisson, a sophomore from theUniversity of Rochester, also spent thesummer working with the Conservancy.She worked on projects with theChesapeake Conservation Partnership.We bid a very fond farewell to VicePresident and Director of Programs JennAiosa, who has left the Conservancy tobecome the executive director of BlueWater Baltimore.Chesapeake Fellow Reed Perry beganhis graduate degree at Duke University’sNicholas School of the Environment.Good luck Jenn, Reed, Katie, and George!Thanks for your tremendous work!Shorelines The Chesapeake Conservancy Newsletter 7

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work for trail designation. (See summer 2016 Shorelines for story of establishing the national historic trail.) Sultana’s boatbuilding efforts and the Friends’ promotion of the new national historic trail eventually converged and gave birth to the idea of having the re-enactment voyage inaugurate the trail