Preserve Holly Beach Farm, don’t develop it

There is a proposal that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF’s) Holly Beach Farm should become a national park, open to the general public for a variety of uses, including commercial ventures, such as a ferryboat service to Baltimore and the Eastern Shore. There are both legal and environmental reasons why this is neither feasible nor desirable.

When Holly Beach Farm was acquired, it was given permanent protection status under a highly restrictive conservation easement. It was to be maintained as a natural resource and “public access” was unambiguously defined as limited use for students through structured environmental education programs. The proposed new uses of the property are incompatible with this mandate in violation of the legally binding agreement.

For some, land is only valuable to society if it is developed. Preserving a natural habitat is a wasted economic opportunity. We need to face the fact that we are experiencing climate change and extinction crises with all of their disastrous consequences for humanity. In order to reverse our current trajectory, we need to place a greater value on natural habitat that can store carbon and increase biodiversity.

CBF has spent millions of dollars restoring the natural environment of Holly Beach Farm. The results are wetlands and woods that have attracted an abundance of wildlife, while preserving carbon sinks. A public park and ferry service would mean crowds of people and cars, and paved surfaces for parking. When people come, the wildlife will go.

Not every parcel of undeveloped land should become a public park. There must be a balance between providing much needed recreational opportunities and the need to maintain areas of natural habitat. Holly Beach Farm is a unique and sensitive natural resource of significant ecological value to the Chesapeake Bay and we should keep it that way.

Lani Hummel, Annapolis