PUBLIC HEARING: HART-MILLER ISLAND

Eugene J. Scarpulla (gscarp@erols.com)
Mon, 05 Oct 1998 21:49:31 -0400


MARYLAND OSPREIANS, MOS, ANS, SMAS, VSO, OC, Unaffiliated Birders:

I need your help again. It is time for the final Public Hearing 
regarding the Environmental Restoration of the South Cell of Hart-Miller 
Island. At this hearing, I need a show of support from birders for the 
final recommended plan. If you can, please attend the hearing and 
comment on the benefits of this plan for birds, wildlife observation, 
nature study, nature photography, environmental education, etc. Or if 
you can't attend, please send your comments to the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers. The details for the project and hearing are as follows:

PUBLIC HEARING
SOUTH CELL ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
HART-MILLER ISLAND

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1998
7:00PM TO 9:00PM

CHESAPEAKE HIGH SCHOOL
1801 TURKEY POINT ROAD
ESSEX, BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, is soliciting 
public comments on the draft Hart-Miller Island (HMI) South Cell 
Ecosystem Restoration Report and Environmental Assessment. The proposed 
plan is to restore aquatic and terrestrial habitat in the 300-acre South 
Cell of the 1100-acre Hart-Miller Island Dredged Material Containment 
Facility. The recommended plan includes 200 acres of mudflats and 
wetlands for migrating shorebirds, a 1-acre island for nesting terns, 
three ponds totaling 20 acres for wintering waterfowl, and 80 acres of 
uplands for songbirds. A pumping system will manage the water levels in 
the project area. This re-creation of wetlands, the island, ponds, and 
uplands will provide avian habitat and significantly improve regional 
wildlife habitat diversity in the northern Chesapeake Bay. 

Copies of the draft report are available for review at the Enoch Pratt 
Free Library, 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD and the Baltimore 
County Public Libraries, 1110 Eastern Boulevard, Essex, MD and 1716 
Merritt Boulevard, Dundalk, MD. The report is available, as an Adobe 
Acrobat file, on the Internet, at:

www.nab.usace.army.mil/PDF/hmi.pdf

Individuals wishing to obtain a copy of, or wanting more information 
about, the draft report may write to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
ATTN: CENAB-PL (Mr. Richard Kibby)
P.O. Box 1715
Baltimore, MD 21203-1715
Phone: (410) 962-0694 or (800) 295-1610
Fax: (410) 962-4698
E-mail: richard.kibby@nab02.usace.army.mil.

A public hearing to receive comments on the draft report will be held on 
Wednesday, October 14, 1998 at Chesapeake High School, 1801 Turkey Point 
Road, in Essex, Baltimore County, MD beginning at 7:00 PM. Any person 
who has an interest in the project may make comments within 30 days. 
Please e-mail or mail a CC of your comments to me for my files.

Thanks for all your assistance,

Gene Scarpulla
Maryland Ornithological Society Representative
Hart-Miller Island Study Team
7906-B Knollwood Road
Towson, MD 21286-1247
(410) 821-0575
gscarp@erols.com