Ladies and gentlemen, 欢迎来到切萨皮克冠军，感谢大家来到这个美丽而富有传奇色彩的地方.

I’m Joel Dunn, President and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy. If you weren’t familiar with our work before, 微软已经让你们了解了十大赌博正规老平台协会是如何利用技术来改变土地管理和保护的方式.

当世界上最大的软件公司要求你在全球舞台上展示你的小型非营利组织时, you know you’re starting something revolutionary.

Just as the use of technology changed the banking, 卫生保健, and communications sectors, making them faster and more efficient, we believe that it must do the same for the environment.

今晚，我们聚集在一起，表彰来自切萨皮克各地的杰出领导人，他们在保护和恢复我们的自然系统和文化资源方面取得了前沿和切实的成就.

Our awardees and their work highlight how the Chesapeake is a bipartisan, 多代, multi-cultural priority – for its beauty, 对我们的经济, for our health and for our history. It also shows us that everybody has a role to play in protecting the Bay.

I’d like to thank the Chesapeake Conservancy’s 董事会, and my mentor Patrick Noonan, 谢谢你给我这个非凡的机会来领导这个组织, 我要感谢我们的工作人员为保护我们的地区所做的辛勤工作.

我要感谢今晚在场的一些组织赞助商，是他们使这次活动和我们的项目成为可能:

• 埃丽诺K. 法夸尔
• The Bunting Family Foundation (Marc Bunting)
• The Helena Foundation (Jim & 西尔维娅伯爵)
• Intel (Steve Harper)
• 霍根 & Lovells (Doug Wheeler, Philip Katz, Mark McConnell)
• 兰迪Larrimore
• 贝弗里奇 & Diamond, (Ben Wilson, Paul Hagen)
• Benchworks (Thad and Renee Bench)
• Cherry Baekart (Scott Denlinger)
• Herrington on the Bay (安a Chaney)
• Herrington Harbour North (Hamilton Chaney)
• And, Andrew and 安 Rose

I also want to recognize few attendees in particular:

• 国家公园管理局代理局长麦克·雷诺兹和他的妻子艾米
• The Honorable John Warner, 英雄和朋友, 还有他的女儿弗吉尼亚·华纳最近帮我们保护了拉帕汉诺克河上的一处重要财产.
• Molly Ward, Virginia’s Secretary of Natural Resources
• 珍妮·里奇奥，马里兰州州长拉里·霍根的副幕僚长，负责环境事务
• 查克•亨特, 国家公园管理局切萨皮克湾办公室和约翰·史密斯切萨皮克步道的负责人, along with his wife Dana
• 最后的, 但重要的是, 我的母亲, 姐姐和叔叔-展示了我们家对自然保护的大力支持.

我要感谢所有的获奖者，感谢他们的辛勤工作，感谢他们今晚和我们在一起. I will describe their accomplishments, which complement and reinforce each other, and invite each of them up to speak shortly.

最后, 我要感谢弗农山庄妇女协会允许我们在我们国家最伟大的公民的家里庆祝切萨皮克冠军赛.
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In 1853, Louisa Cunningham was traveling on the Potomac River. 她在明亮的月光下看到了弗农山，意识到这是一个非常特别的地方, a place that mattered to America.

夫人. Cunningham understood that George Washington, and his view of the world, had resulted in the sustained prosperity of this great country, 因此Mt. Vernon needed to be preserved.

Louisa inspired her daughter, 安, 召集她的朋友们——所有女性——并要求她们尽可能多地参与拯救这个地方. And they did and they have continued to do so.

同样，切萨皮克和它的大河也是我们国家文化的一部分. 它的土地, 水与历史, 培养我们, 激励我们, and at times console us, as indeed it has for Chesapeake people for thousands of years.

正如从罗纳德·里根开始的许多总统所说，切萨皮克是国宝. Indeed, it is as grand as the Grand Canyon or as beautiful as Yellowstone. Captain John Smith certainly recognized this in 1607, 他写道:“天地间再没有比这更适合人类居住的地方了.”

我的整个成年期都在为保护我们的星球而奋斗, especially the Chesapeake Bay, 因为我相信这是特殊的，我们有责任维护生态系统的功能，为我们孩子的未来保护生物多样性. This would ensure that they have the same opportunities we’ve had.

有了一个两岁的女儿，我对这项重要而有价值的事业越来越有热情. 我的妻子, 海蒂, and I will be having our second child in a few months, which will no doubt double my inspiration.

The truth is that the problems which the Chesapeake now faces are staggering. We have serious challenges with pollution, 栖息地的丧失, 外来入侵物种, climate change and limited public access. 但幸运的是，我们看到了海湾恢复的一些有希望的迹象. Water clarity is the best in decades. 岩鱼, 牡蛎和蓝蟹的数量正在反弹，我们在流域有132个新的入口点.

这一点很重要，因为一个健康和可达的海湾对健康的经济和社会至关重要. For example, outdoor recreation in Maryland contributes $14.0 billion in consumer spending and more than 100,000 jobs.

只有保护切萨皮克和我们的环境，我们才能使我们的公民在商业和家庭生活中充分发挥他们作为父母或导师的潜力.

Working with many of you in this room, 我们很自豪能够在创建一条国家步道——切萨皮克步道的过程中发挥领导作用, 国家公园, national monument and state parks. 现在我们正致力于在切萨皮克河下游建立第一个国家海洋保护区. These both protect resources and generate economic opportunity and awareness.

With people having an ever-increasing impact on our land, 水, 空气与气候, I take heart in these accomplishments and the commitment of our awardees. As 21st century conservation entrepreneurs, I am especially excited that, we are now entering a new era of conservation.

毫无疑问，新兴技术可以开启史诗般的保护合作, which will result in clean 水 and saving the land that matters. And that with the right data, we can save everyone time and money, 加强不断增长的生态系统市场，并利用数学和证据来推进我们的目标.

即使是乔治·华盛顿也无法想象，有一天我们会拥有云计算的巨大计算能力. 想想看. 你的智能手机比1969年美国宇航局所有计算机的总和还要强大数百万倍.

同样的十年, 肯尼迪总统创造了“登月计划”这个词，他从字面上激励我们的国家将人类送上月球并返回.

The conservation community – our community – needs a moonshot. 今年，我的偶像之一，普利策奖得主，著名生物学家EO Wilson [please see statement issued February 23, 2022, regarding Dr. Wilson’s support of scientific racism]当他呼吁将地球的一半献给自然的目标时，引起了极大的关注.

在这里做这个, 我们需要保护或恢复大约50%的切萨皮克湾流域，而且要在正确的地方.

With less than half of that protected now, reaching that goal will require us to step on the gas, 不是刹车. We need epic levels of purpose, direction and courage from people like you.

就像太太一样. Cunningham realized that night on the Potomac, this is a national priority. 这个登月计划需要像霍根州长和麦考利夫州长这样的杰出领导, our corporate leaders like Microsoft, the extraordinary Ladies of Mt. Vernon and all of us.

如果这个房间里的每个人都团结起来保护环境，我们就能完成任何我们想做的事情.

Thank you for joining us.