From the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.  Looks like we can do something about it - see the contact information below.  


Coming to a Wildlife Refuge Near You... 3,200 Houses and a Golf Course
Posted by    11:00 AM Oct 27, 2005 

To anyone who's ever been to Maryland's Blackwater Refuge on the Eastern shore, you know what an incredible place is hidden away here. It's a thriving wetland full of wonderful and rare birds, Loblolly pines, abundant crabs and fish hard to find anywhere else. Like other similar ecosystems (think of the Everglades), this area is fragile and susceptible to the pressures of modern population -- pollution, runoff, chemicals. 

Over the years this area has had the good fortune to be protected. Now a developer plans to build 3,200 homes in this region, outside the town of Cambridge, along with golf courses, tennis courts, retail shops, and the works. At least 200 of those homes would be built in a environmentally sensitive area, within 1,000 feet of the Little Blackwater River, which flows straight into the refuge and the Chesapeake Bay.  

Under Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth law, the state could refuse to endorse this plan. But this summer the MD Dept of Planning approved the plans, designating it a "priority funding area." 

While we agree that the Eastern Shore needs jobs, and attractions, developing this huge chunk of land that is not even located in a town center seems outrageous and short-sighted. This is a complete reversal of the state's "Smart Growth" philosophy.

Even the local paper has editorialized against this development.

The plan must still get approval from the Dorchester County Council, Cambridge City Council, and the state's Critical Area Commission. Let's hope someone has the foresight to stop this development before we lose our wildlife refuge forever. You can contact Mary Owens, chief of the Critical Areas Commission program implementation at   or 410-260-3480.

Post your comment here.

Read our Blog FAQs & Terms of Agreement.
RSS feed link: http://www.demaction.org/dia/api/rss.jsp?org=153&table=blog_entry&fields=Title,Content


Denise Ryan
Cheverly, MD