Harford County - Development and Forest Removal - Abingdon Woods

[Marcia Watson]

Pat Valdata wrote last week with a heads up about a development project that will remove 220 acres of woods in Harford County in a sensitive watershed area. An article with more information about how to submit public comments, which are due on October 15, is at https://www.bayjournal.com/news/growth_conservation/md-regulators-take-public-comments-on-proposed-development-in-harford-county-forest/article_42d3463a-1d68-11ec-aa10-5b91f05173c0.html. The actual MDE permit details are at https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/WetlandsandWaterways/Pages/CREG_Westport_I.aspx.  Public comments should be based on the MDE permit. 

It is noteworthy that the current public comment period is only occurring because of a court order. 

Marcia

------------- 

Marcia Watson

Bowie, Maryland

[JAMES SPEICHER]

Wonder if this is the same site mentioned in a recent WAPO article. If so, it is not only environmentally valuable, but was a site of a war of 1812 battle. The article made mention of the reasons that a permit was not a requirement even for historical purposes.

I'll try to find the article link... but access may be limited.

Jim S

--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
Unfamiliar with a hotspot mentioned on this list? Quickly locate it here - http://www.mdbirding.com/hotspot.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maryland & DC Birding" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mdbirding+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mdbirding/D356B50E-3A3B-4414-8223-103CBB00CDB1%40comcast.net.

[Marcia Watson]

Friends, 

 

Here is some additional information on the land slated for the business park development in Harford County.

 

The MDE permit names the development as the Abingdon Business Park and says it is located on Edgewood Road east of the intersection with Van Bibber Road, west of Abingdon Road, north of Philadelphia Road, and east of Interstate 95 north. Local people call the forest Abingdon Woods.

 

See the two attached satellite image screenshots. The land in question is the big green forested area in the center of the zoomed-in image (image001). The area outlined in blue that runs north-south through the forest on the left side of the image is the floodplain of the Haha Branch, a tributary of Otter Point Creek which lies to the south and south-east. There is another unnamed tributary that flows north-south through the property and joins Haha Branch; this tributary is shown by a simple dark blue line east of Haha Branch. In addition to providing habitat for birds, the forest protects the water quality of these streams.

 

The entire forested area is designated by MD DNR as an area that supports Forest Interior Dwelling Species of birds. Unfortunately there is no public eBird hotspot at Abingdon Woods that would allow us to easily document sightings there.

 

I’ve also attached a second screenshot (image002) that shows a more zoomed-out view, and for orientation, I placed a yellow flag in the forested area to be developed. In this image you can see the proximity to Otter Point Creek toward the bottom of the image. Otter Creek has a peach-colored overlay denoting it as an estuarine wetland. Other wetlands in the area are shown in various shades of green, peach, and orange-red. 

 

Note that the MDE permit characterized the wetlands within Abingdon Woods as “isolated.” This second screenshot makes clear that this is not the case – there is a rich network of contiguous wetlands. 

 

Also, a few words about Otter Point Creek for those who may not be familiar with it. This estuary supports one of the most extensive remaining marshes on the western shore of the Bay. It is so important that it has been designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a component of the Chesapeake Bay-Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR). (There are only two other components of the CBNERR in MD: Jug Bay and Monie Bay near Deal Island.) Under the CBNERR designation, NOAA and the state partner on research and environmental education projects at Otter Creek. Read more at https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/reserves/chesapeake-bay-md.html, https://dnr.maryland.gov/waters/cbnerr/Pages/default.aspx, and https://birdersguidemddc.org/site/anita-c-leight-estuary-center-otter-point-creek/. The water quality of Otter Creek would be under danger of impairment if this development goes through.

 

In addition to sending comments to MDE, you can also send comments pertaining to the removal of the forest and the loss of large specimen trees to this Contact Person at MD DNR:

 

Marian Honeczy

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Tawes State Office Building E-1

580 Taylor Avenue

Annapolis, MD 21401

410-260-8511

E-Mail: marian....@maryland.gov

 

The satellite images and overlays are from the publicly available MD DNR MERLIN mapping system. https://gisapps.dnr.state.md.us/MERLIN/index.html  I had to reduce the size of these images severely to make them small enough to send on this email, so I apologize for the small size.

 

Marcia

_____________

Marcia Watson

Bowie, MD

--