House passes refuge bill for Cecil's Garrett Island

A bill to protect Cecil County's Garrett Island as a wildlife refuge was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday.

The House cleared the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Act on a voice vote. "It passed all the hurdles, and no one had any objections," said Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, the Maryland 1st District Republican who sponsored the bill.

Garrett Island, in the mouth of the Susquehanna River, is the only rocky island in the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The island encompasses 189 acres and is about 1 1/2 miles wide. Its topography, featuring the granite dome of an ancient volcano, rises 115 feet above sea level.