Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) reintroduced legislation to create a Chesapeake National Recreation Area (CNRA) that would operate as part of the National Park Service. In response, Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation, issued the following statement:

“The CNRA Act proposes the unification of new and existing parks in the Chesapeake Bay, which would increase public access to the bay for local Latino communities and help fund its restoration. A recent poll showed Latinos in Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia strongly support the CNRA. Polling indicates that 84% of Latino voters in these states would support the creation of the CNRA.

“Lack of access to nature and the outdoors is especially acute in mid-Atlantic states. Throughout the Chesapeake watershed, communities of color are more than three times as likely to live in a nature-deprived area than other communities. Bills like the CNRA Act, reintroduced by Senator Van Hollen and joined by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), that protect nature close to our communities are critical for closing the Nature Gap and creating equitable access to nature’s benefits, as well as honoring our region’s diverse heritage.

“The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S. and is rich with history, culture, and biodiversity, and beloved to coastal and inland communities throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Establishing the CNRA would enhance protections for the Bay’s fragile ecosystems, improve water quality, and support habitat restoration for hundreds of species of fish, birds, and wildlife. This initiative would also help mitigate the effects of climate change by preserving natural buffers like wetlands and forests, which absorb floodwaters, reduce storm surges, and capture carbon. As environmental threats intensify, a coordinated, federally supported effort like the CNRA is crucial to ensuring the long-term resilience of the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding communities.”

Senator Van Hollen first introduced the legislation with then-Congressman John Sarbanes in July 2023. A revised version passed unanimously and with bipartisan support in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in November 2024, followed by unanimous approval on the Senate floor in December. However, the House was unable to advance it before the previous Congress ended. Senator Van Hollen has now reintroduced the bill in the 119th Congress.