Thank you Mayor Moyer. I am honored to be here today celebrating life on the Chesapeake Bay and the maritime festival with you and so many other wonderful people. I understand this is THE day on the Bay. Thank you for inviting me, and welcome to Congressman Cardin; Regional Administrator Shelton of the GSA; Admiral Brice-O'Hara and Capt. Springer of the U.S. Coast Guard; Ginger Ellis and all the other officials here from Anne Arundel County and Annapolis; and all of you here today to enjoy the festivities.

I want to extend a special thanks to Wayne Wheeler, President of the U.S. Lighthouse Society; Henry Gonzales, President of the Chesapeake Bay Chapter; Buck Buchanan, Chairman of the Annapolis Maritime Museum; and all the other volunteers who have worked to protect this lighthouse.

As I will explain, these folks are models for the kinds of volunteer citizen stewards who hold the key to the future of conservation in America.
That is why we are here today-to ensure stewardship of the lighthouse and open it to the public while saving it for future generations.

Although we cannot see the lighthouse from this dock-it is more than a mile offshore-it is visible from Thomas Point Road in Thomas Point State Park. This ceremony today will ensure that some day soon, the public will gain increased access through boat tours to the lighthouse.

Like the dock on which we are standing, the Thomas Point lighthouse is part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network-a system of more than 125 parks, refuges, museums, lighthouses and other historical features that tell the Bay story. The Gateways Network is coordinated by the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office.

Lighthouses are a big part of the history of the Bay, which has almost 12,000 miles of shoreline. Vital beacons for mariners navigating the Bay's complex channels and shoals, lighthouses often made the difference between safe passage and disaster.

Today these historic Chesapeake Bay lighthouses cast their guiding lights across two centuries of vibrant history. In 1792 the first lights illuminated the Bay's entrance at Cape Henry.

The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse has guided wayfarers for more than 125 years.

Today Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. It has become an icon of the Chesapeake Bay's heritage and lifestyle.

The significance of Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse goes beyond the Chesapeake Bay. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1999, Thomas Point represents the last unaltered screwpile, cottage-type lighthouse on its original foundation in the United States.

Screwpile technology greatly improved the navigation system in the late 1800's by allowing inexpensive construction of lighthouses in offshore locations.

Perhaps as many as 100 spider-like, screwpile lighthouses were built throughout the Carolina sounds, the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is the last of its kind.

The National Lighthouse Historic Preservation Act
allows lighthouses to be transferred at no cost to whatever Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit corporations or economic development organizations can best protect them.

We administer this popular program in consultation with the Coast Guard, the National Park Service, and GSA.

We are studying more than 300 lighthouses on the East Coast, West Coast, and Great Lakes for possible transfer.

Over the past two years, 30 lighthouses have been processed under the 2000 law. In the past two weeks alone, I have announced transfers of Point Sur Lighthouse in California and Sentinel Island in Alaska.

Today I am proud to recommend transfer of the historic Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse to the city of Annapolis and its nonprofit and government partners. The city will become the new owner while the U.S. Lighthouse Society, and its Chesapeake chapter will serve as lighthouse managers.

The society will lease the structure, making use of its volunteers to preserve the lighthouse and to run educational tours in consultation with the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Anne Arundel County. The land-based maritime museum will make a great starting point for lighthouse tours.

I commend the City of Annapolis, the United States Lighthouse Society and its Chesapeake Chapter, the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and Anne Arundel County for forming this special public-private partnership.

Henry Gonzales, who is here with us today as President of the chapter, works two jobs-his regular job and his volunteer job caring for lighthouses. He can tell you more about the history and lore of these lighthouses.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the National Lighthouse Preservation program. A mystique surrounds lighthouses.
Whether because of reverence for the lifesaving function of lighthouses or admiration for their scenic beauty, many people want to be involved.

They want to rescue lighthouses from disrepair and neglect and to preserve their historical importance.

Restoration work on the lighthouse will take an estimated five years. The partnership plans to start limited public tours as soon as possible, however, perhaps as early as late this summer.

By combining the resources of the city and county governments with a nonprofit organization, this partnership meets the needs of the local community while utilizing national expertise in historic preservation.

The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse symbolizes much more than its historical significance as the last structure of its kind.

Starting with the papers we sign today, it symbolizes the kind of public-private partnerships that will protect historical, cultural and natural treasures for the future.

I want to personally thank all involved for setting the example for others who want to preserve lighthouses.

Just as lighthouses helped our nation navigate the shores of commerce, these citizen stewards are lighting the way to a new era of conservation and historic preservation.