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The Chesapeake Conservancy is a 501c3 non-profit organization headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. The Conservancy believes that connecting people to the Bay is vital to ensuring the long-term conservation of the Chesapeake Bay. They are dedicated to advancing citizen engagement; promoting education, interpretation and the development of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and other programs designed to sustain the Bay’s natural, cultural and historic resources. They advance this by:
 * Developing cultural and wildlife habitat education and outreach programs;
 * Strengthening the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network;
 * Celebrating Chesapeake history through heritage tourism programs.

Vision: The Chesapeake Conservancy envisions a Chesapeake Bay watershed that allows people to connect with many of the values the American Indians enjoyed and Captain John Smith observed during his momentous voyages of discovery, that is: a “goodly Bay” teeming with fish and wildlife, healthy waters and abundant forests, wetlands, shorelines and open spaces; a place of natural wonder and discovery, rich in cultural traditions, treasured and conserved for the benefit of future generations.

Mission: The Chesapeake Conservancy's mission is to strengthen the connection between people and the watershed, conserve the landscapes and special places that sustain the Chesapeake’s unique natural and cultural resources, and encourage the exploration and celebration of the Chesapeake as a national treasure.

The Chesapeake’s great rivers and the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail provide the Conservancy with their framework for education and landscape-scale conservation planning, highlighting the importance of history and culture, as well as wildlife and habitat, to protect vital resources in the Chesapeake. They promote river corridor conservation by:
 * Community-based collaboration to establish Conservation Priorities;
 * Developing Chesapeake River corridor collaborative programs;
 * Creating new protected Chesapeake lands and access areas.

The Conservancy promotes technological, methodological and financial innovations to encourage exploration and develop new techniques and partnerships for saving the Bay. They use innovations to:
 * Create new concepts to expand public access;
 * Institute new approaches to conserve land and water;
 * Launch new methodologies to advance conservation outreach.

(1) http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/ (2) http://www.smithtrail.net/ (3) http://www.baygateways.net/