Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary: Managing a Shared Resource through Comprehensive Planning Across Jurisdictions

Abstract

History, preservation, and planning intersect in the policies affecting Mallow’s Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary. Mallow’s Bay is a section of federally protected water situated along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia and contains one of the most unique marine landscapes in the United States including 108 World War I shipwrecks. The Sanctuary’s management requires coordination among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Charles County (MD), and Stafford County (VA). Examining the governance structure and planning process of Mallow’s Bay provides insight on how multiple overlapping jurisdictions influence comprehensive planning of a location that holds a connection to the past. Using qualitative document analysis and comparative policy mapping of federal, state, and local plans, this paper evaluates how comprehensive plans function as the primary framework for coordinating natural resources management objectives at the local level. The analysis identifies areas of alignment, gaps, and tensions across the layers of plans that impact policy implementation and the integration of resource conservation with local economic development. The findings lead to six recommendations that will help overcome differing land-use priorities and a lack of cross-jurisdictional coordination that limits unified management of a historically important resource.