Chesapeake Conservancy Honors NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis for His Commitment to the Chesapeake Bay

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Annapolis, MD – Last night, the Chesapeake Conservancy presented National Park Service (NPS) Director Jonathan B. Jarvis with the 2015 Public Servant Champion of the Chesapeake Award at the second annual Champions of the Chesapeake Awards and dinner celebration.

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“As the National Park Service prepares to celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2016, we are honored to recognize Director Jarvis as a ‘Champion of the Chesapeake,’” Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn said.  “Director Jarvis has shown a long-standing commitment to landscape-scale conservation and National Park Service engagement in the Chesapeake.  He is a strong supporter of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, which both highlight the natural and cultural resources of the Chesapeake and its great rivers.”

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"I am honored to accept this award from the Chesapeake Conservancy but humbled because individual awards rest on the hard work of a large number of people who are dedicated to a common goal. That is certainly the case tonight. I accept on behalf of colleagues too many to mention for fear of forgetting a single team member,” National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said. “The Chesapeake is a national treasure and the National Park Service is fortunate to be able to tell a few of its great stories through the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and to encourage people to take advantage of the natural and cultural resources of the Bay and its great rivers and to join us in preserving it for future generations."

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Under the leadership of Director Jarvis, NPS has been an advocate for bringing the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the forefront of conservation efforts on the federal level, including the development of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the first national water trail in the country.  The Chesapeake Conservancy is the primary partner with NPS for the John Smith Trail, working together to protect, conserve, and provide access for residents throughout the watershed.

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Jarvis's career with NPS has spanned 37 years. He has served a ranger, resource management specialist, park biologist, and a superintendent of parks including Craters of the Moon, North Cascades, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Mount Rainier. Jarvis served as regional director of the bureau's Pacific West Region until 2009, when he was confirmed as the 18th Director of the National Park Service.

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The 2015 Champions of the Chesapeake Awards dinner took place on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis, Md.