Chesapeake Conservancy Finalist for BoatUS Grant

Public’s Votes Needed to Win Grant to Produce Mobile Friendly Boater’s Guide

Annapolis, MD – The Chesapeake Conservancy is competing to win a grant from the BoatU.S. Foundation.  The grant process is now in the final stage, and it is left to the public to vote which organization will receive support from BoatU.S. 

If Chesapeake Conservancy is awarded the grant, funds will be used to convert the Conservancy’s print publication, “A Boater’s Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail” into an online/mobile format to be more accessible to boaters. 

The guide combines practical information and trip itineraries with historical context of the Chesapeake’s water explored by Captain John Smith in the early 1600s. The Boater’s Guide includes detailed maps for each destination along the John Smith Trail, mileage, and historic sites. It also indicates what types of boats can access each location and includes safe and clean boating information. 

“We want to make it easier for people to get out and enjoy the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail,” Jeff Allenby, director of conservation innovation for the Chesapeake Conservancy, said. “With this new mobile friendly guide, boaters would be able to access up-to-date information from the Boater’s Guide from their home or their phone to plan a trip on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail or a from their kayak in the middle of the Pamunkey River in Virginia.”

To vote visit www.BoatUS.org/grants/vote.asp now through March 24, 2015. Voters may cast one vote per day for the organization of their choice.