April 18, 2007: The Maryland Board of Public Works voted on April 18 to purchase approximately 70% of the land that developer Duane Zentgraf had acquired for his development project called Blackwater Resort Communities.

According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, "Funded by Program Open Space, this transaction will allow for the preservation and restoration of more than two-thirds of a 1,072-acre parcel slated for development on Maryland’s Eastern Shore...Under an agreement with the State, the sellers, Thomas Land Group, LLC and Egypt Road LLC, will limit development on the remaining 328 acres to 675 houses -- a 75 percent reduction from the originally approved 2,700-unit Blackwater Resorts Development -- and use bio-retention and other best management practices to provide for stormwater control measures able to manage a 10-year storm event...The sellers have also agreed to contribute more than $1.9 million to implement an extensive site restoration plan devised by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Dorchester County Soil Conservation District. The restoration will provide for substantial water quality improvements through riparian forest buffer and wetland establishment, creation of diverse wildlife habitats, and implementation of state-of-the-art agricultural best management practices."

Visit the following links for more information:
MD Dept. of Natural Resources press release
Chesapeake Bay Foundation press release

 

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Proposal History

During the summer of 2005, developer Duane Zentgraf received approval from the Maryland Department of Planning for a request to develop property near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

At the time the project included a residential area of 2,700 single-family and multi-family homes, 100-room hotel/conference center, golf course, and a retail center. Within the project zone were 313 acres of "Critical Area" land, which included a designated "Resource Conservation Area" and "Habitat Protection Areas."

Cambridge Mayor Cleveland Rippons had stated that the Cambridge area was in need of economic stimulus and the Blackwater housing project was a solution, while local environmental organizations had stated that this project did not follow the "Smart Growth" approach that Maryland has traditionally followed, as the Blackwater Resort development was far from the Cambridge town center or already developed areas.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at Blackwater Refuge did not oppose the project but had voiced serious concerns about its impact on the Little Blackwater River, which forms the northern boundary of the project site. The Little Blackwater River drains into Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and the river is designated as a "Wetland of Special State Concern" and "Locally Significant Habitat."

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge itself has been classified as a "Wetlands of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention and has also been recognized as an "Internationally Important Birding Area." The Refuge provides habitat to the largest population of nesting American bald eagles in the Chesapeake Bay region and also provides habitat for ospreys and other wildlife that rely on clean river habitat.

The potential environmental impacts of the project included: excessive stormwater run-off containing multiple pollutants; impact on large wetland areas caused by construction runoff; "Critical Area" buffer encroachment; and impacts to endangered species, which include the Delmarva fox squirrel and the American lotus.

In addition, there was concern that the increase in impervious surfaces resulting from the project could impact water quality and fish populations, which would directly affect raptor populations at the Refuge.

Blackwater Refuge Senior Biologist Dixie Birch stated, "We have analyzed the changes to impervious surfaces that the Blackwater Resort Communities development will have on the Little Blackwater River watershed by working with the Environmental Protection Agency modeling system called "NEMO". This development project will increase the impervious surfaces of the Little Blackwater River by 12 to 13%."

"Previous scientific studies by Galli in 1994 and the Center for Watershed Protection in 2000 have clearly demonstrated that when the impervious surfaces in a watershed exceed 10%, there is a sharp decline in fish populations and water quality."

The Blackwater Refuge staff recommended to the Maryland Senate that there should be a baseline study and inventory of the natural resources and water quality and quantity conditions of the Little Blackwater River. They urged that the study cover these topics:

• Water quality
• Water quantity
• Fisheries communities
• Bethic communities
• Plant communities
• Avian communities
• Wildlife communities

If you would like to know more about the concerns of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as expressed before the state bought the land, please read the following documents:

• Testimony by then-Blackwater Manager Glenn Carowan, Jr.
• Testimony by Blackwater Refuge Senior Biologist Dixie Birch
• Letter of concern from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
  John Wolflin, Supervisor, Chesapeake Bay Field Office
  Steve Minkkien, Project Leader, Maryland Fisheries Resource Office
  Glenn Carowan, Project Leader, Chesapeake Marshlands Complex