Environmental Area

The dew is still thick on the ground when Jeff Duguay catches his first bird, a blue jay, in a giant net strung between two poles in one of Columbia's few remaining meadows.He holds the jay gently in one hand, securing a band onto one of its toothpick-thin legs before releasing it. In the next several hours, he will catch, band and release three more birds: another blue jay, a blue-winged warbler and a magnolia warbler.Banding birds is one of Duguay's many activities, part of his long-term research into the effects of suburban sprawl on the environment.

The University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic issued a report yesterday saying local governments often fail to enforce a landmark state law designed to protect environmentally critical areas near the Chesapeake Bay. County officials responsible for enforcing the 1984 Critical Areas Law - which is supposed to limit development within 1,000 feet of bay tributaries - rarely fine law-breakers, don't employ enough inspectors, and generally try to...

About 630 acres in the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in Clarksville will be dedicated as a protected area at a ceremony tomorrow.The upkeep of the parcel off Trotter Road near Route 108 -- which will be used as an environmental education area -- will be funded through a $1.8 million trust fund established by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks after it purchased the land in April from the Rouse Co.The parks department will maintain natural...

Howard County residents in the mood to visit a nature center have to drive somewhere else - there isn't a single one in the burgeoning suburb. But before long, it could have three. As the Howard County Conservancy prepares to build a long-envisioned environmental education building on its Woodstock farm, county officials are seriously discussing the idea of similar centers at the future Blandair Regional Park in east Columbia and the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in west Columbia.

A sewer main broke in Severn yesterday, spilling about 5,000 gallons of raw sewage onto the ground near Severn Run Natural Environment Area. The break was discovered about 9:30 a.m. by a plant operator at the Severn Run pumping station, at Burns Crossing and Old Mill roads on the edge of the environmental area that contains Severn Run. The spill was not major, but sewage might have seeped into the stream, said John Morris, a county spokesman. Effects of the spill should be minimal, said Richard McIntire, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The state has given the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks about $950,500 to renovate an Ellicott City recreation center and to buy land for a proposed county park along the Middle Patuxent River.The state Board of Public Works approved the funds Wednesday for the Roger Carter Neighborhood Center and the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, a 1,100-acre parcel bounded by Harper's Choice village and Routes 108 and 32.The money comes from Program Open Space, a program administered by the state Department of Natural Resources that helps local jurisdictions buy parkland and develop recreation areas.

The Middle Patuxent Environmental Foundation has announced that Joyce M. Kelly has succeeded Gerald "Jerry" E. Brock as chairman. Brock, vice president at the Route Co., will remain as trustee.Johanna G. Cote, senior vice president of NationsBank, succeeded Ken Paynter as secretary/treasurer.Charles "Chick" Rhodehamel of the Columbia Association remains as vice chairman.Kelly is president emeritus of the Wildlife Habitat Council, immediate past president of the Howard County Conservancy and trustee of the Maryland Environmental Trust.

Howard County is cracking down on dozens of Columbia homeowners who have encroached on county parkland adjacent to their homes.The homeowners are using the parkland as if it belonged to them -- not the county, parks administrators say. In some cases, they have set up swing sets, planted gardens and created compost heaps on the county-owned land.At one home, surveyors said they discovered an in-ground swimming pool that crosses onto park land, and county officials say it will probably have to be dug up."

Howard County residents in the mood to visit a nature center have to drive somewhere else - there isn't a single one in the burgeoning suburb. But before long, it could have three. As the Howard County Conservancy prepares to build a long-envisioned environmental education building on its Woodstock farm, county officials are seriously discussing the idea of similar centers at the future Blandair Regional Park in east Columbia and the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in west Columbia.

An infrared survey of heavily wooded areas in Howard County shows there are three times as many deer as is ecologically healthy.Results of the March count, released last week, found between 41 and 118 deer per square mile in the 7,500 park acres surveyed.On about 1,900 acres of the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area in Clarksville, off Route 108 -- where almost 50 deer were killed last winter in the county's first managed hunt -- the study found large herds: 106 deer per square mile.The $7,500 study done by a private Wisconsin company also looked at several other areas, including Schooley Mill Park, near Clarksville, Rockburn Branch Park, in Ellicott City, and the Gorman Area, outside Columbia.

Howard County parks officials won a commitment yesterday for nearly $2 million in state funds to increase a huge swath of preserved land in Columbia by 21 acres, an addition they believe could be ideal for a long-talked-about nature center. The county and landowner are still negotiating a price. But the average appraisal was $94,500 an acre, similar to what the Department of Recreation and Parks has paid for land recently on Howard's very expensive east side. Howard County spent less overall - roughly $1.8 million - on the original 1,000 acres that make up the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, which stretches from one end of Columbia to the other.

A large swath of Ellicott City land once owned by Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll is headed for development, and preservationists are bemoaning the lost conservation opportunity, saying neither the county nor the state is aggressively trying to save environmental gems. The 306-acre parcel, just north of the huge tract of preserved land known as the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, is expected to be subdivided into lots for 94 expensive homes. The land, known as Benedict Farm, is being developed by Toll Brothers and Carroll family descendants.

A large swath of Ellicott City land once owned by Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll is headed for development, and preservationists are bemoaning the lost conservation opportunity, saying neither the county nor the state is aggressively trying to save environmental gems. The 306-acre parcel, just north of the huge tract of preserved land known as the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, is expected to be subdivided into lots for 94 expensive homes. The land, known as Benedict Farm, is being developed by Toll Brothers and Carroll family descendants.

A sewer main broke in Severn yesterday, spilling about 5,000 gallons of raw sewage onto the ground near Severn Run Natural Environment Area. The break was discovered about 9:30 a.m. by a plant operator at the Severn Run pumping station, at Burns Crossing and Old Mill roads on the edge of the environmental area that contains Severn Run. The spill was not major, but sewage might have seeped into the stream, said John Morris, a county spokesman. Effects of the spill should be minimal, said Richard McIntire, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Deep in the woods, his shotgun ready, Russell Allen sat quietly in his tree stand for 20 minutes watching two oblivious young buck deer not 10 yards away -- but he never pulled the trigger.The rules for the 28-day controlled hunt in Columbia's Middle Patuxent Environmental Area require killing two does before taking a buck. And Allen, a big, patient Cooksville resident, followed the rules.On the hunt's opening day yesterday, shooters killed 24 deer -- all but three of them does -- between dawn and the 11 a.m. deadline.

The Middle Patuxent Environmental Foundation has announced that Joyce M. Kelly has succeeded Gerald "Jerry" E. Brock as chairman. Brock, vice president at the Route Co., will remain as trustee.Johanna G. Cote, senior vice president of NationsBank, succeeded Ken Paynter as secretary/treasurer.Charles "Chick" Rhodehamel of the Columbia Association remains as vice chairman.Kelly is president emeritus of the Wildlife Habitat Council, immediate past president of the Howard County Conservancy and trustee of the Maryland Environmental Trust.

SEVERAL FORMER west Columbia residents were planning to return for an alumni performance scheduled by Dance Dimension last night at Howard Community College's Smith Theater, as part of the Columbia Festival of the Arts.Directed by Marilyn Byers, the modern dance company for teen-agers and young adults is based at Slayton House in Wilde Lake.Byers described Dance Dimension as "an arts group dedicated to social consciousness."She added, "My philosophy is to do cutting-edge, professional dance."

Howard County parks officials won a commitment yesterday for nearly $2 million in state funds to increase a huge swath of preserved land in Columbia by 21 acres, an addition they believe could be ideal for a long-talked-about nature center. The county and landowner are still negotiating a price. But the average appraisal was $94,500 an acre, similar to what the Department of Recreation and Parks has paid for land recently on Howard's very expensive east side. Howard County spent less overall - roughly $1.8 million - on the original 1,000 acres that make up the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area, which stretches from one end of Columbia to the other.

The dew is still thick on the ground when Jeff Duguay catches his first bird, a blue jay, in a giant net strung between two poles in one of Columbia's few remaining meadows.He holds the jay gently in one hand, securing a band onto one of its toothpick-thin legs before releasing it. In the next several hours, he will catch, band and release three more birds: another blue jay, a blue-winged warbler and a magnolia warbler.Banding birds is one of Duguay's many activities, part of his long-term research into the effects of suburban sprawl on the environment.

FROM THE time he was 16 years old, Aelred Geis knew what his life's work would be. He made up his mind to become a wildlife biologist.A native of the Chicago area, Geis witnessed substantial development on the outskirts of the city and saw its impact on wildlife.Some 50 years later, after earning a doctorate in wildlife management, teaching at Michigan State University and working for 30 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Geis is still practicing his life's work.In honor of his recent efforts, Howard County Conservancy presented its first Sen. James Clark Jr. Land Stewardship Award to Geis on Tuesday.