-7- 



Scope of Survey 



In this survey, the first three phases were accomplished including 

 preliminary field checks on about 70 out of 232 areas, or 30 percent 

 of the areas studied. The survey covers some 12,600 square miles (see 

 map on page ) . The region includes the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin 

 between the Pennsylvania and North Carolina state boundaries. It is 

 bordered on the west approximately by the fall line, i.e., the line 

 separating the coastal plain from the Piedmont area extending from 

 Baltimore through Washington to Richmond. On the east, the boundaries 

 include the Chesapeake Bay estuarine drainages (though not those drain- 

 ing to the Atlantic). Most of Delaware is excluded. While the study 

 area includes the land adjacent to the tidal reach of the major rivers, 

 it does not include the extensive drainage areas of the upper Potomac 

 or Susquehanna Rivers. 



Of the 12,600 square miles covered in the survey, 941 square miles 

 were found to be in the category of 'already protected.' Some 534 

 square miles, in 232 separate sites, were identified as natural areas 

 with potential need for protective action — that is, about 4.2 percent 

 of the total study area. Of these 232 sites, 64 have been placed in a 

 high-priority category so that roughly 2 percent of the Bay region area 

 is recommended for procurement or other preservation action. 



Sources of Information 



One of the results of this survey is an awareness on our part of 

 the considerable amount of ecological and biological information already 



