----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gerald & Laura Tarbell" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 8:12 AM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Norm's logic


>    So let this be a new beginning. And let's not get caught up in the sale
> of state lands on Norm's list.
>    My email remains open to those who, like me, like to squabble.
>    Jerry

Actually, I think that this is an appropriate discussion for this list, more 
so than the crane issue. The sale of state lands and the subsequent loss of 
public owned properties that are currently open to all Marylanders, 
including birders and other outdoor enthusiasts, SHOULD be a concern and 
outrage to the members of this list. By taking public lands that were to be 
preserved as open space for all of the residents of this state and turning 
those pieces of land into prize parcels for private ownership denies the 
rest of us access and increases the lost of habitat in relatively 
undisturbed lands. Perhaps some of these properties will be sold to counties 
for their control of the public spaces as county parks. Then again, perhaps 
they will be sold to someone rich enough to own their own piece of paradise, 
with a spectacular view from their 20,000 square foot mansion overlooking 
their own personal waterfall in what used to be Rocks State Park in Harford 
County. Sounds like a great deal for the rest of us Marylanders. Then again, 
what should I care, I don't visit the area to bird or hike. It shouldn't 
concern me, right?

The following is an excerpt from The Baltimore Sun on 11/12/04:

"Targeted parcels include land that appears attractive to developers, such 
as 16 acres inside Deep Creek Lake State Park in Garrett County, a popular 
tourist destination where property values are soaring.

Other land that might be sold includes 151 acres in Patapsco Valley State 
Park, 33 acres on Chesapeake Bay islands off Baltimore County, and Harford 
County property near the state's second-highest waterfall."

We're talking about 3,000 acres of land here that are of interest to every 
birder and environmentally minded person in the state. This is in addition 
to the St Mary's County property that was in the news a weeks ago. We're 
talking Hart-Miller Island lands. We're talking about Deep Creek Lake 
property. We're talking about a beautiful creek in northeast central 
Maryland. We're talking varied habitats that will be lost for the personal 
interests of others. This is not my personal political agenda, as another 
private responder to my last post suggested, this in an agenda that affects 
all of us and once the lands are sold off to private interests, they are 
gone for us today and for our children tomorrow.

Edward Boyd
Westminster, MD