Blackwater

Times for Festival and Saturday Pick-up

The Clagett Farm Fall/Harvest Festival is almost here. To help you make your plans to join us on Saturday, here are the times......

The Festival and Pot-Luck Lunch will start at Noon in the Educational Barns (big barns you see when you take the first left on the farm)

The Saturday Shareholder Pick-up will be at it's regular time (starting at 1 pm) however...it will be at the Educational Barns.

At 1:00 pm the Hayrides and Silent Auction start. They will run until 3:00 pm.  Be sure to check out all the wonderful items for sale - each purchase helps From The Ground Up to continue it's important mission of bringing fresh, healthy produce to our community!

There are other fun things going on all afternoon and you get to hang out with your farmers!!

Looking forward to seeing you this Saturday, October 21st at the farm!!!!

Last Stand on Blackwater

Wow - What a Turn Out!

Despite the sweltering summer heat, more than 150 people showed up, held signs and shouted "Stop the Resort" as the City Commissioners entered the County Council Building last Thursday evening for the last debate about Blackwater. We even had a farmer bring his tractor and four watermen come by boat!

As usual, opponents heavily outweighed supporters, with more than 40 people testifying against the project. Even the US Fish and Wildlife Service testified and asked the commissioners not to make a decision until a one-year water quality study can be conducted to assess possible impacts to the wildlife refuge.

The hearing did not end until 11:30 p.m. Interstingly, the commissioners decided not to vote on the proposed project that night and to keep the record open for another week. Additionaly, they received more than 1,000 e-mails in opposition to the project over a two-day span just before the hearing. The record closes Friday, Aug. 4th so you still have time to write the commissioners and ask them to VOTE NO.

Cambridge City Council Commissioners
307 Gay Street
P.O. Box 255
Cambridge, MD 21613

They will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 21st, and may vote on the project then. Thanks to everyone who showed up at the hearing and remember to keep pressing. Stay posted on www.cbf.org/blackwater more information and meeting dates. Remember, it's still not a done deal.

Terry C.

What idea do you have to stop the development?

Bill from Monrovia writes: I totally support your efforts to stop development in the Blackwater refuge and elsewhere. The eastern part of Maryland is being ruined by the significant reduction in farms, (and) the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay .

We the people MUST step up and stop this rape of our state by showing our outrage and by our votes at the ballot box.

- Terry C

Petition Reachs 20,000 Signatures!

The people continue to speak out against the development. Last week we launched a radio and print campaign that generated 3,000 plus electronic signatures along with many, many hand-signed signatures circulated to friends, family members and co-workers by the many, many concerned citizens of Maryland. Our goal was 15,000 signatures and we blew by that in no time. Let's keep it going.

Last night, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the final master development plan. It will now go before the City Council for final approval. In addition, the Critical Area Commission will hold a hearing on July 20th on the growth allocation.

These two events provide a significant platform to express your dismay that this mega-development continues to move forward against the will of the people who will have to live with the pollution, the traffic, and the dedegradation of the county's, the state's and the nation's natural heritage.

Make plans to attend both hearings. More than 375 people attended the City Council hearing on the growth allocation. Let's get 400 people to both these meetings. Tell your friends. This is likely to be the last time you will be able to speak out against the development.

Remember - I ain't over 'til we say it's over! 

Terry C.

Planning Hearing - May 23rd

The City Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the revised master plan for Blackwater Resorts. The builder has pulled all the residential construction out of the critical area as required by the City and County but a golf course, conference center and club house remain in the critical area. And there are still many unanswered questions about stormwater rentention, flooding, the affect of all the new impervious surfacing and more.

Please mark your calendar and come prepared to comment on the project. The public hearing will be held at the American Legion, 601 Radiance Drive, Cambridge, Maryland, beginning at 7:00 pm. Plans depicting the revisions are available for review at the City Department of Public Works (705 Leonard Lane, Cambridge, 410-228-1955) during City business hours.

We hope to have a great turn-out. Bring your neighbors. Raise your voice. Say No to Blackwater. This is still the wrong project in the wrong place.

Terry C.

The Latest News on Blackwater

Although you may think we've been sleeping all this time, we really have been quite awake continuing our opposition to the project. In March, we appealed the county's decision to award the growth allocation. We followed that up with an appeal on the city's decision. We now sit and await court dates.

Just this week we sent a letter to the Department of the Interior asking it to intervene to stop the project based on the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, and more. We think this has substantial merit and hope to hear back for the agency soon.

And there's more... we are awaiting announcement of the public comment period and the hearings that will be scheduled once the project plans are resubmitted to the Planning and Zoning Department for review. They should be posted in the paper so be sure your subscription to the Daily Banner doesn't expire. It is expected that there will be four such opportunities for the public to comment and we hope hundreds of concerned citizens testify at the hearings. We will post the schedule here as soon as we know.

CBF is working with the Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth and others to line up experts to analyze and comment on the revised plan.

Finally, the Burton Farm northeast of the Blackwater site, next to the airport is up for an annexation hearing next week, May 2. The City P&Z Department will be seeking public comments on the proposed 900-acre annexation. The hearing begins at 7:00 in the City Council chambers. As we stated many times during the Blackwater hearings, the development dominos are beginning to fall and this is another. Please join us at the hearing and comment.

So there you have it. "No rest for the weary!"

It's ticking...

Can you hear the clock ticking? Can you envision thousands of homes on a soybean field, cars clogging local roads, ever more development? Well, now is the time to really let the city know how you feel.

Monday, March 13th, the city commissioners will be VOTING on the growth allocation for the project. At the growth allocation hearing last month, comments were running 5 to 1 against the project. How can the commissioners ignore the will of the people who are going to have to live with the impacts of a mega-development?

What you can do:

• Right now, pick up the phone and dial 410-228-4020 and ask your commissioner to vote NO Monday night.
• Join us for a community meeting Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 618 Pine Street, Cambridge.
• Keep the letters to the editor coming. If you haven't written to the Star Democrat (stardem@chespub.com) or the Daily Banner (mailto:banr@newszap.com ) yet, now is your chance. The developer and his people have been using the media to spread their message - let's be sure we aren't drowned out.

I am confident that the tide is turning but we really need to keep up the pressure, the calls, the letters to the papers and the visits to the city commissioners. If you have a great idea on how to keep this hot, let's hear it. And please come to the City Council meeting, 7:00 p.m. March 13th with your orange hats on!

Terry C.

Now, it's up to the City

On March 13th the City Commissioners will VOTE on the growth allocation for the proposed Blackwater Resort development. But because our efforts have targeted the County Council, the commissioners may not have heard all the ruckus. So, in the next 13 days we must be sure they hear from everyone that this is the "Wrong Project in the Wrong Place!"

If you have called the city commissioners, ask you mother to call. If you have written a letter to the editor, ask your neighbor to send one in. If you have not personally talked with a commissioner, make an appointment and talk with them about your concerns - this is the very best way to express your opposition - but please be civil. If you haven't done anything yet, now is the time. We need your voice and action. For contact info, click here.

The Star Democrat is conducting a web poll that has us losing in the court of public opinion. These kinds of polls are not scientifically valid but do give the proponents a small soap box. So let's see if we can't even out the numbers a bit.

The clock's ticking; let's really turn things up.

Terry C.

It Ain't a Done Deal! You Made History!

Tuesday night (Feb. 21) was an historic evening. The Dorchester County Council passed a resolution that prevents the developer of Blackwater Resorts from building any residential structures in the critical area bordering the Little Blackwater River. That means the council voted NO to 189 homes in the critical area - a significant improvement over the original plan. The implications are that the developer will have to go back and revise the development plan - a significant procedural delay.

However, the resolution still allows for commercial development and a golf course to be built in the critical area. The council therefore awarded the entire amount of growth allocation requested by the developer (313 acres) and left it up to the city to define how many acres of growth allocation will actually be required for the revised project. Today we have learned that the city has indefinitely postponed its pending decision on the growth allocation and the final development plan originally scheduled for February 27. What an tremendous acheivement for the opposition!

We will know more in the next few days about what happens from here and will use this column to keep you informed.  It may take a while for this to unfold so we must stay vigilant and active. As a compatriot has said - we're beginning to turn the super tanker - but we cannot rest. We must organize and prepare for future hearings, media events and more.

Thank you all for your ardent pleas, letters, calls and other activities that forced these actions by the county and city. Let's keep it up, but let's be civil and our heat will cook their goose!

Terry C.

This is a big one, City Council Meeting Tonight

Tonight at 5:00 pm in the County Council office (501 Court Ln, Cambridge), the council will make it's final decision on the proposed Blackwater Resort development. Please join us for this historic vote. I am told that there will not be an opportunity for the public to speak about the growth allocation decision but the council may allow the public to speak after their business is concluded.

If you have not read the Daily Banner yet, they have a good story on the poll we released yesterday that found 73% of Dorchester County voters are opposed to the issuing of the growth allocation. We will be posting the entire results on our website shortly so please visit www.cbf.org for the latest.

One other thing: please, if you haven't already, send a brief letter to the City Council before Feb. 24 opposing the project. We must continue to fight at both the city and county levels and can not leave a back door open. We must build the record and ensure that there are many more opponents to the project on record than proponents. So please, take a few minutes and write a letter (don't send an e-mail - it can easily be deleted) to:

The Honorable Cleveland L. Rippons
City Hall
307 Gay Street
PO Box 255
Cambridge, MD 21613

We're close, very close . . . but so is the developer. See you tonight!

--Terry C

We're gaining on 'em..

Last night, because of all the calls, letters and visits the citizens of Dorchester and the State have made, the County Council postponed it's final decision on the Blackwater Resort until next Tuesday, 2/21 at 5 p.m.

This is a solid victory for the opposition but as usual, there is more to be done!

After four of five members of the County Council commented on the need for more information before moving forward with the project, the council asked the planning department to get together with the developer and create a list of studies that are needed. It appears that they will then incorporate the list in the final resolution on the growth allocation and then vote on the resolution. We are very pleased that the county has recognized there is a need for much more information, but we are concerned about how that information will be gathered and how it may or may not affect their decision to move forward with the growth allocation.

1. Will the County accept input from the public to the list of studies?
2. Will the County Council approve the list and then approve the growth allocation before the studies are completed?
3. How can the County Council responsibly move forward with the project without first conducting baseline studies and then determining the possible negative impacts of the development on the Little Blackwater River, the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the farms surrounding the proposed development, the City of Cambridge, and more? This is the reason for the studies in the first place.
4. Will the developer be responsible for conducting the studies or will the county hire independent contractors to do the studies?
5. When the studies are complete, will they be available for the public to review and comment on?

These are questions that need to be asked and answered so the public understands what is being proposed and decided. Please call the County Council today (410-228-1700) and ask your elected representative on the council what his or her position is on the need for more information and whether the council can or should move forward with awarding the largest growth allocation in the history of the state before all the information needed to make that very big decision is in.

Then put Tuesday, Feb. 21st on your calendar as a major milestone in the history of Dorchester County. The decision made that evening will affect the citizens of Cambridge and Dorchester a long, long time. Do you want intense development in a resource conservation area or do you want well planned and well managed growth that will benefit not a few but the entire county?

One other thing: please remember to send a brief letter to the City Council before Feb. 24 opposing the project. We must continue to fight at both the city and county levels and can not leave a back door open. We must build the record and ensure that there are many more opponents to the project on record than proponents. So please, take a few minutes and write a letter (don't send an e-mail - it can easily be deleted) to:

    The Honorable Cleveland L. Rippons
    City Hall
    307 Gay Street
    PO Box 255
    Cambridge, MD 21613

We're close, very close . . . but so is the developer. Let's keep the heat up high.

Terry C.

It's Getting Hotter..

Thursday night's City Council meeting was a remarkable display of solidarity and hope. I estimate that close to 400 people, mostly opposed to the Blackwater Resort Development, attended the meeting. Comments were running 5:1 against the development. I hope the City Commissioners were taking notes. Additionally, the on-line petition has garnered over 10,000 signatures. Clearly this is a project that the citizen's of Cambridge, Dorchester County and the state of Maryland do not want. But we still have a ways to go to drive the final stake into the heart of the beast.

This coming week there are two important meetings that citizens must attend: Tuesday night Feb. 14 at 6 p.m., the County Council meets in Cambridge and may take up the growth allocation again. We hope to pack the room with folks wearing orange to show our concerns about the awarding of the growth allocation to the developer. The following night, Feb. 15, the City Planning Commission will hold a hearing of the final development plans. At this writing, we are uncertain about the time and location of the meeting, so please check the CBF website, www.cbf.org/blackwater for the most timely information. Like the City Council meeting, the Planning Commission will listen to citizen's comments about the project, so please come, testify and submit a written statement - wear orange!

Finally, thanks to City Commissioner Gil Cephas, the city has extended the comment period for two more weeks, until Feb. 24. That provides you with the opportunity to send in a written statement about your opposition to the project. We must build the record and ensure that there are many more opponents to the project on record than proponents. So please, take a few minutes and write a letter (don't send an e-mail - it can easily be deleted) to:

    The Honorable Cleveland L. Rippons
    City Hall
    307 Gay Street
    PO Box 255
    Cambridge, MD 21613

I want to personally thank everyone who came to the City Council meeting. This is one of the most exciting and rewarding issues I have ever worked on and the community outrage and passion is amazing. Let's keep the fire hot. It ain't over 'til it's over.

Terry C.

That high-pitched noise you hear

is my suspension of belief about to snap. There it went.

I'm referring, of course, to the heartfelt, lengthy Blackwater Resort defense written by Mr. Boyle in the comments section. It's detail: about the site, about how the golf course is going to be managed, about the tree plantings, about the stormwater plan - require me to ask: "Gerry, How about sharing the wealth!"
People want to know the details. The real details.

In other words, how about some objective data showing Blackwater could be green?

Where's the environmental impact statement?

Where's the stormwater management plan?

Why not take care of those items and then go for the approvals?
Without an EIS, Mr Zentgraf is essentially telling the citizens of Dorchester and Cambridge, 'Hey, trust me. Give me the approvals I need to start building and everything's going to be fine."

Historically when municipalities buy that line everyone but the developer loses. The hundred acres of trees they assured everyone would be planted starts to shrink. The promised, cutting edge stormwater and golf course management take a back seat to more hazardous, cost-effective solutions. Trees and buffers take a backseat to better profit. Etc... Etc...
Don't take it personally - it's just that we've seen it before. All over the watershed.

-Karl

Stories from Petitioners...

Quite the groundswell of support for the petition. Last week we challenged petition signers to dig deep see if each could scare up more signatures. We're approaching 10k right now. And that doesn't even begin to count the hundreds of people who have signed paper copies.

I've heard from folks all over Maryland. People who made the conscious choice to break from their ordinary lives and get involved. They're out there pounding the pavement for signatures. People like Bruce, Amanda, Marcy, Ron, Kimberly, Caro and Chelsey A are out there spreading the word.

The comments and stories are amazing, heartfelt, and inspiring. This one, (published with permission) is from Ann Gorski of Dorchester County. It is indicative of the support and strong feeling present in the 'Say No to Blackwater' movement:

"Dear CBF,

I just jumped on this bandwagon as I had the same lais-sez faire attitude that many of my fellow Dorchester County citizens have-it'll never happen". To my surprise it almost happened and still may happen if we don't get our act together to stop it. Just can't believe our citizens are so laid back and think someone else will stop this ludicrous act all in the name of "helping" Dorchester County? Give me a break.

I am from the northern, farming area of the county but have always appreciated the beauty and purpose of our Blackwater Refuge. My ancestors were from the area surrounding Blackwater so yesterday, with petition in hand and my 86 year old Aunt and sister-in-law, we decided to pay our ancestors a visit at their final resting place as well as gather some signatures from the people who will be hit the hardest by this "resort".

To make a long story short, we traveled roads that were under water because there is no drainage for the water to go, always has been that way and will only worsen should mankind start foooling around with mother nature. Those burried souls are in peril as the flooding has all but floated them away. Not exactly a place for a resort. My main concern however was the lack of concern of the hard working people. Those that have worked and lived this area and continue to earn a living either by working the water, marsh, farming or driving 30 miles to town each way to earn a meager living. These persons are so wrapped up in trying to earn a living that many of them have failed to realize what is happening all around them.

It is sad to think that the "more educated" persons of our county have been brainwashed by some of our political bureaucrats into thinking this will be "good" for all of Dorchester County Citizens! Please, let us just use our common sense, we don't need a slanted and biased comprehensive study done to tell us what is the best use of our land nor how a development such as this will impact us. We have lived here, we should know why mother nature gave us such a watershed.

We have done enough already to destroy it so let us now concentrate on how to protect it from mankind and his greed. The CBF is noted for having its faults like any other non-profit agency, but we must admit they know what they are talking about because their expertise lies in the subject of protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Should anyone that is in favor of this "Blackwater Resort" or "on the fence" as a well known successful farmer and trapper informed me yesterday, then I suggest you take a moment and pay attention to this issue.

If you would just listen to what they have to say with the facts to back it up and look at your environmental surroundings, it will not take you too long to jump over that fence to side with the oppossition.

Time is of the essence. Help stop this from happening in our back yard, life as we know it will be gone forever, and we will live to regret not speaking out against it.

Let your democratic voice be heard and "SAY NO TO BLACKWATER RESORT"

Ann Gorski
Dorchester County "

The overwhelming majority of signatures are coming from Maryland, but we can't control where people forward it. We're hearing from people all over the country. Like it or not, the decisions made regarding Blackwater Resort, and their effects, will not be contained to the Eastern Shore.

Here's one from Michigan:

"This Blackwater Project is not only environmentally unsound, but tourists (my family included) will stop traveling to Maryland when all is converted to boring subdivision, stacked look alike shoddy townhouses or oversized McMansions. Trees, trees, open space and historic sites is what we want."

We've heard a fair bit of that sentiment.

Here's a little encouragement from New York:

"We have the beginning of the watershed that leads into the Chesapeake Bay way up here in upstate New York(Cooperstown). I signed the petition and hope that you are able to stop the development. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the environment and the Bay.

- Jennifer A"

Then there are the people who have never gotten involved in a political issue in their life. I spoke with one 70-year women Friday, a lifelong resident of Dorchester County, who needed help downloading and printing the petition.

She said to me, "I've lived in this county all of my life. I remember when the bay grass was thick and you could walk the shoreline and pick softshell crabs up in the shallows with nothing but your hand. I remember when you could stand in three foot deep water and see the bottom. Now, you can't see six inches."

I checked in with her Monday. She took the petition to church on Sunday.

Keep up the great work! Thursday's Cambridge City Council Meeting is a big one.

-Karl
Webmaster, CBF

Thank YOU!

We are overwhelmed by your numbers! The number of you who have been posting on the blog. The number of you who have been calling and emailing. The number of you who turned out at Monday night's town meeting. The number of you who have signed the petition. The number of you who are contacting county officials. The number of you who are standing up and saying that it is time that the citizens of Maryland controlled their destiny in their county, on their Eastern Shore, in their state of Maryland.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has done nothing, but facilitate the most basic democratic right to shape what government does. To risk the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge for the unsubstantiated promise of economic growth and to ignore the serious social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with this project - all issues raised by the local citizens - would be to discount the basic premise of our system of government and environmental protection.

People have been thanking us, but I always thank them. I thank all of you for standing up for clean water. And thank you for standing up in support of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. It is a gem.

Keep exercising your rights and your voices to urge the governor and the county and city commissioners to stop this project.

CBF will do whatever we can to help.

Remember who they are:
City Commission
Cambridge Mayor Cleveland Rippons: info@ci.cambridge.md.us
Commissioner La-Shon M. Brooks: info@ci.cambridge.md.us
Commissioner Gilbert Cephas: info@ci.cambridge.md.us
Commissioner Kenneth Knox: info@ci.cambridge.md.us
Commissioner Donald Sydnor: info@ci.cambridge.md.us
Commissioner Walter Lee Travers: info@ci.cambridge.md.us

County Council:
County Council President Glen Bramble: info@council.docogonet.com
Councilwoman Effie M. Elzey: eelzey@council.docogonet.com
Councilman William V. Nichols: wnichols@docogonet.com
Councilman Ricky Travers: travers@fastol.com
Councilman David Yockey: dyockey@docogonet.com

State
Governor Robert Erhlich: http://www.gov.state.md.us/mail/
Senator Richard Colburn: richard_colburn@senate.state.md.us

-Will