Yesterday, The Baltimore Sun published an important article on the impending development of the Mattawoman Creek watershed in Charles County, MD. I went hiking through the woods in that area of southern Maryland a few years ago with an ecologist friend who grew up nearby. We saw bald eagles and scores of turtles basking in the afternoon sun. It was beautiful, remote, peaceful and wild.

Biologist, Alexandra Siess, brought the sad development news to my attention in an email. She wrote, “What strikes me is that the state has been buying up land to make a protective buffer along (the Mattawoman) stream corridor for decades, but for 8,000 homes, the county is apparently not concerned about the expected 50% increase in polluted runoff this project will dump into the watershed. That will kill the most sensitive stages of the creatures that live within and alongside Mattawoman Creek, including young fish & eggs, amphibians, beneficial insects, etc. (and so go the effects on up the food chain). And having that type of polluted input that high up in a stream corridor will pull the rug out from under the downstream section of the ecosystem, too, even the adjacent Potomac (River) into which the Mattawoman drains.”

Folks, this environmental destruction is hurting us all – wildlife and humans alike. We’ve got to do something to conserve our natural resources. See excerpts below, or for the full article, go to:

Highway threatens creek filled with life: Connector could foul Mattawoman in Southern Maryland

www.baltimoresun.com/news/lo...03.story

The Southern Maryland stream (Mattawoman Creek) is one of the most fertile fish breeding grounds in the Chesapeake Bay region. But state and federal officials warn that it could be destroyed if Charles County carries out its plan to build a four-lane highway across the creek to help serve at least 8,000 new homes planned in the area.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has called Mattawoman Creek "the best, most productive tributary in the bay." More than 50 species of fish breed in the stream's 20 miles of shady wanderings, including yellow perch and largemouth bass.

The stream valley also boasts the richest variety of reptiles (and amphibians) of any place surveyed in the state, with 18 species, including marbled salamanders and southern leopard frogs, according to a department report.

The $60 million road project and the houses are likely to increase runoff pollution in the creek by 50 percent, killing fish in an important Potomac River tributary, according to state and federal officials. "There would be dire consequences on the quality of life in the stream," said Paul Wettlaufer, a manager with the Baltimore branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

But the county's commissioners are determined to proceed. They say the east-west connector has been planned for more than a decade and would help prevent traffic congestion as exurbia inevitably marches south from Washington.

…When the growth goals of local governments clash with state conservation efforts, the system is designed to give more power to the local governments. To some current and former state officials, the case highlights weaknesses in state laws designed to control suburban sprawl and protect the Chesapeake Bay.

Since the 1970s, the state has been trying to protect large chunks of northern Charles County. The Mattawoman Creek watershed is about 70 percent forested, which helps to protect the stream from runoff pollution. From 1975 to 1997, the state purchased 2,509 acres lining the stream to prevent development and protect wildlife.

In 1998, the state under Gov. Parris N. Glendening spent $25 million to buy another 2,225 acres of forested land in the middle of the county's growth district and stop a 4,600-home subdivision called Chapman's Landing. County officials opposed the preservation of this land, which is north of Mattawoman Creek.

Glendening says continued development in the area is an example of a weakness in his 1997 "Smart Growth" law, as well other state efforts to control sprawl.

Ken Hastings, a coordinator with the Coastal Conservation Association, … said he worries that oil, gas, dirt, fertilizer and hot water gushing off the highway and new subdivisions will transform this river of life into a sterile ditch.

"The fish will just disappear," he said.

(Tom Pelton, The Baltimore Sun, April 7, 2008)