Chesapeake Conservancy: Chesapeake Conservancy presents Sen. Cardin Conservation Hero Award
August 1, 2012
Chesapeake Conservancy
The Chesapeake Conservancy today presented its Chesapeake Conservation Hero Award to US Senator Benjamin Cardin for his career-long support of conservation in the Chesapeake region, and his support for the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and its connecting Historic Component Trails and the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails program.
Joel Dunn, executive director of the Chesapeake Conservancy, made the presentation at the Senator’s office in Washington, D.C.
“The Chesapeake Conservancy bestows its Hero Award on those few individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation of special places on the Chesapeake Bay, supported the Bay’s great rivers and helped to increase public access along those shores,” Dunn said. “Senator Cardin has been a courageous supporter of Chesapeake conservation throughout his distinguished public service career.”
The Chesapeake Conservancy has been a chief proponent of reauthorization and funding for the Capt. John Smith trail, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails program and funding for Program Open Space, Maryland’s primary land conservation and outdoor recreation grant program.
“The Chesapeake Bay is one of our nation’s greatest treasures. We need to restore it to full health and give more Americans opportunities to experience its natural wonder and celebrate its cultural and historic significance. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the advocate community over the years to make the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails program a reality so that future generations can appreciate and enjoy,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin in accepting the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Chesapeake Conservation Hero Award.