For the first time in more than 60 years, Maryland has a new national wildlife refuge.
The Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge, announced recently by federal officials, will protect up to 40,000 acres in Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties that provide habitats for threatened and endangered species.
A 31-acre parcel near Nanjemoy in Charles County is the first of several land donations from The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization headquartered in Virginia, to become part of the refuge, with more intended over the next few months.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said establishment of the refuge is an “incredible milestone.”
“Across the nation, the Biden-Harris administration has partnered with local communities, partners and Tribes to protect treasured places, bolster climate resilience, and ensure current and future generations have public lands and waters to enjoy and recreate,” she said in a statement. “Our collective work will ensure the health and enduring legacy of the National Wildlife Refuge System.”
Efforts to establish a national wildlife refuge in the area have been underway for several years and could take decades to complete.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to work with willing sellers to conserve additional land within four watershed-based areas in the region, including the Lower Patuxent-Calvert Unit, portions of which include Anne Arundel County; the Nanjemoy-Mattawoman Unit; the Zekiah-Wicomico Unit; and the McIntosh Run-St. Mary’s Unit.
More than half of Maryland’s forests and wetlands have been converted for other uses. More than 1 million acres have been developed since 1973, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The areas targeted in the new national wildlife refuge support a wide range of species, including waterfowl, shorebirds, forest-interior and grassland-dependent birds. Threatened and endangered species, including the dwarf wedgemussel, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, Puritan and Northeastern tiger beetles and the northern long-eared bat, are also in the area.
The new refuge, the first to be established in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in more than 25 years, will also expand outdoor recreational opportunities.
The last time a refuge was established in Maryland was in 1962 when the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, a 2,200-acre island in Kent County, was created as a sanctuary for migratory birds.
The Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge is the sixth national wildlife refuge system created under the Biden administration.
The state set similar goals through the Maryland the Beautiful Act of 2023, which aims to conserve 30% of the land in the state by 2030 and 40% by 2040. In May, Gov. Wes Moore said the state has met its 30% land conservation goal and is now working to meet the 40% goal by 2040, which will require the state to conserve an additional 600,000 acres.
Area conservationists applauded the long-awaited creation of the refuge.
“This new refuge offers an opportunity to halt and even reverse biodiversity loss in this important place, and in a way that fully integrates and respects the leadership and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities,” Joel Dunn, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy, said in a statement.
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